On 17 and 18 June the Norwegian Government’s Longship project is officially marked as operational ready. Northern Lights’ second CO₂ transport ship, Northern Pathfinder, takes part in the program as it prepares for first operations this summer.

Longship is Norway’s largest climate initiative and Europe’s first full-scale value chain for carbon capture and storage (CCS). The CO₂ vessel fleet in Northern Lights is a key part in the Longship’s CCS value chain.

“With the Northern Pathfinder our first two CO₂ transport ships are ready for operations. The first vessel, Northern Pioneer, has already started the commissioning phase transporting liquefied CO₂ from our first customer, Heidelberg Materials. These ships represent a crucial step in realising a scalable, cross-border infrastructure for CO₂ transport and storage, helping decarbonise European industry in a safe and reliable way,” says Tim Heijn, Managing Director of Northern Lights JV.

As part of the Longship events in Oslo and Brevik, the Northern Pathfinder received blessings from her godmother Kari Nessa Nordtun, a Stavanger citizen and the Minister of Education for Norway.

The 130-meter-long vessel is the second of four custom-designed sister ships, each capable of transporting up to 7500 tonnes of liquid CO₂. It is registered in Stavanger, Norway and managed by Kawasaki Kisen Kaisha, Ltd. (“K” LINE).

Northern Pathfinder will now enter the commissioning phase together with Northern Pioneer.

Kari Nessa Nordtun. Godmother ceremony Northern Pathfinder.