[Korea Economic Daily/ July 20, 2023] HD Korea Shipbuilding & Offshore Engineering (HD KSOE) has successfully won a contract to build the world's largest liquefied carbon dioxide (CO2) carrier.

The company announced on Wednesday that it has secured a deal with Greece's Capital Maritime & Trading Corporation for two liquefied CO2 carriers with a capacity of 22,000 cubic meters each. The total contract value amounts to 179 billion won ($141 million).

The commissioned carriers, measuring 159.9 meters in length, 27.4 meters in width, and 17.8 meters in height, will be built at Ulsan Hyundai Mipo Dockyard and delivered to the shipowner sequentially from the second half of 2025.

These vessels are designed not only to transport liquefied CO2 but also various other liquefied gas cargoes such as liquefied petroleum gas (LPG) and ammonia. They are also equipped with ammonia dual-fuel readiness, which allows for future conversion into ammonia-powered vessels.

According to the Global CCS Institute, the carbon capture and storage (CCS) market is expected to grow by over 30% annually due to decarbonization policies, and the global carbon capture capacity is projected to reach 7.6 billion tons by 2050. Consequently, there is an anticipated increase in demand for CO2 transportation vessels.

HD KSOE received approval in principle from the American Bureau of Shipping (ABS) and Lloyd's Register (LR) for its 74,000-cubic-meter liquefied CO2 carriers, among others, at last year's "Gastech," the world's largest gas exhibition.

To date, HD Hyundai has won a total of 112 vessels (including one offshore facility) amounting to $14.59 billion, achieving 92.7% of its annual order target of $15.74 billion.