First reference for Babcock LGE LCO2 solution on new 22,000cbm carriers

The announcement follows Babcock’s recent Approval in Principle (AiP) from Lloyd’s Register (LR) for its ecoCO2 system during Gastech 2023 in Singapore, and represents another significant milestone in the company’s world-wide sales of its environmentally focused liquefied gas cargo handling technology.

Babcock LGE’s ecoCO2 is designed to enable the efficient transportation of refrigerated liquid CO2 as part of the full Carbon Capture, Utilisation and Storage (CCUS) value chain. The innovative solution accounts for a range of operating parameters including shipping profiles, loading and discharge terminal parameters, cargo composition and cargo volumes.

The cargo handling and reliquefaction solution will be delivered on a pair of 22,000m3 LCO2 carriers. Babcock’s system will deliver commercial and operational benefits throughout the lifetime of the ship and is fully flexible, enabling the carriage of LPG and ammonia as well as CO2. This operational flexibility is expected to be important to avoid ballast legs and avoid low utilisation during the first years of service as the market for the seaborne transportation of large quantities of CO2 develops. 

The Motorship notes that HD Korea Shipbuilding & Marine Engineering (HD KSOE) confirmed the receipt of an order in July 2023 for two 22,000cbm liquefied carbon dioxide (LCO2) carriers from an unspecified ship owner. The 160m-long 22,000cbm LCO2 carriers will be constructed at Hyundai Mipo Dockyard’s Ulsan shipyard. The vessels will be first large scale LCO2 carriers of their size upon delivery, with the first vessel expected to be delivered in H2 2025.

Interestingly, the HD KSOE announcement also confirmed that the vessels would be built with ‘Ammonia Dual Fuel Ready (Ammonia DF ready)’ notation, permitting their conversion to ammonia-fuelled propulsion in the future.

Neale Campbell, Managing Director for Babcock’s LGE business, said: “This milestone keeps the business at the forefront of developing technology that provides sustainable solutions for our customers. We are delighted to have secured this world-first contract with our innovative ecoCO2 technology solution on the global journey towards decarbonisation. This further builds on the existing developments in CO2 shipping for Babcock’s LGE business and marks a crucial step forward during a time when what we do as a business matters more now than ever.”