Partners to Develop Large Scale LCO2 Carriers

August 30, 2021

The MOU was signed at POSCO Center in Seoul by delegations from HMD (Young-Jun Nam, Executive VP), LR (Young-Doo Kim, North East Asia TSO Manager), KSOE (Sang-Beom Shin, Senior VP), the Liberian Registry (Jung Sik Kim, Managing Director of Korea office) and POSCO (Sang-Chul Kim, Head of Energy and Shipbuilding Materials Marketing office). (Photo: Liberian International Ship & Corporate Registry)

POSCO, Hyundai Mipo Dockyard, Korea Shipbuilding & Offshore Engineering, Lloyd’s Register and the Liberian International Ship & Corporate Registry have set out to jointly develop liquid carbon dioxide (LCO2) carriers to meet the demands of increased global carbon storage and utilization technology.

Through their recently signed memorandum of understanding (MOU), POSCO will develop new steel material and relevant technology for storage tank, which are core technologies for the large size of LCO2 carrier, and HMD & KSOE will develop the ship design and the necessary welding and processing technology for the ship construction. In addition, LR will review and revise the relevant classification rules of the certification for the new steel materials and approves for the basic design of the ship, and the Liberian flag State is in charge of all flag state approval procedures such as establishment of ship registration regulations and acceptance of ports entry.

Through this agreement, the participating companies will develop the large size of CO2 carriers over 20,000 CBM (Cubic Meter) step by step by 2025, and at the same time, develop international standards such as steel materials development, establishment and revision of necessary rules and regulations for ship construction and operation and further, to provide direction for the future.

Sang-Cheol Kim, Head of POSCO’s Energy and Shipbuilding Materials Marketing office, said, “Through this joint development work, we expect to preoccupy the carbon-neutral market by developing new materials for the development of the large-scale CO2 carriers through close collaboration with customers and participating companies, and supporting technology for using steel materials.”

Yong-Jun Nam, Executive VP of HMD, said, “Through this practical research and development, all participating companies will be able to solidify their position as market leaders in the new market of the liquefied carbon dioxide carriers.”

Young-Doo Kim, North East Asia TSO Manager of LR said, “This joint development is very meaningful as decarbonization technology innovation is also required in the shipbuilding and shipping industry to reduce global greenhouse gas emissions.”

Alfonso Castillero, Chief Operating Officer of Liberian International Ship & Corporate Registry said, “This is a very important project for the entire maritime industry, as this type of vessel will be an important part toward the successful implementation of upcoming maritime environmental and emissions regulations. The industry needs to be forward looking and focused on leveraging technology to ensure that our industry continues to be as modern, safe, and efficient as possible. This project is a major step in this direction.”