Ecochlor Signs CCS Letter of Intent
Ecochlor, Inc. has signed a Letter of Intent (LOI) with Diana Shipping Services and carbon capture and storage (CCS) specialist, Sinotech CCS for the installation of a Sinotech scrubber and CCS system onboard one of Diana Shipping’s capesize dry bulk carrier, the MV G.P. Zafirakis.
This system is designed to capture 25% of the CO2 emitted within the exhaust gas and temporarily storing it onboard in liquified form (LCO2).
Sinotech will provide the expertise for a full feasibility study, engineering and overall turn-key package for the installation, crew training as well as full support towards type approval certification of the installed system by vessel’s administration. Sinotech will also handle the offloading and sustainable disposal of the captured CO2 in China. The installation is intended to take place at a Chinese shipyard, most likely in the Zhoushan province.
The LOI expressed the intention of the parties to explore potential business opportunities and lay the groundwork for future cooperation on matters beyond this initial scrubber and CCS system installation.
Ecochlor, serving as the global sales representation for Sinotech, successfully negotiated the collaboration with Diana Shipping through Panos Smyroglou, Ecochlor’s VP of Sales & Marketing.
Evangelos Sfakiotakis, Chief Operating Officer of Diana Shipping, stated the company's commitment to support the decarbonization of shipping. "Our ambition is to be a catalyst for positive change in the maritime industry. We endorse IMO's Initial GHG Strategy on the reduction of GHG emissions and we are working towards reducing our carbon footprint."
In early 2022, Sinotech received an Approval in Principle certificate for marine CCS products from Lloyd's Register, Class NK, and Bureau Veritas. Using years of land-based CCS data and optimizations, Sinotech is in a position to showcase the very low energy input required to achieve the recommended CO2 capture rates.