INEOS and Royal Wagenborg launch Carbon Destroyer 1

Photo: INEOS

In a major milestone for the Project Greensand carbon capture and storage project, the
first European-built CO2 carrier, Carbon Destroyer 1, was launched and named yesterday at the at the Royal Niestern Sander shipyard in the Netherlands, as part of a close partnership between Royal Wagenborg and INEOS Energy.

“The launch of Carbon Destroyer 1 is an important next step for carbon capture and storage in Europe” said INEOs chairman Sir Jim Ratcliffe. “We are demonstrating that carbon storage is commercially viable and a far better way to decarbonize Europe without its deindustrialization.”

Lady Catherine Ratcliffe, as Godmother of the vessel, performed the traditional naming ceremony.

“This launch is a defining moment for Wagenborg,” said Wagenborg CEO Egbert Vuursteen. “It combines over a century of maritime experience with a forward-looking vision of sustainability. As the first European-built offshore CO2 carrier, this vessel positions us — and our partners — at the forefront of the energy transition in Europe.”

The Carbon Destroyer 1 is based on Wagenborg’s EasyMax design and has been specially adapted for handling CO2 under pressure and at low temperatures. I is expected to be fully operational by the end of 2025 or early 2026 – when Project Greensand is due to begin permanent commercial scale CO2 storage operations.

Mads Weng Gade, CEO of INEOS Energy Europe, says: “Carbon destroyer 1 will transport captured CO2 from across Europe, creating a virtual pipeline between the point of capture and permanent storage deep beneath the seabed of the North Sea. The delivery of the first dedicated offshore CO2 carrier is a prerequisite for commercial scale CCS across the continent.”

The C02 carrier will operate between the Port of Esbjerg in Denmark and the Nini West offshore platform.

In the Port of Esbjerg construction is currently underway on a new CO2 termina that will serve as the onshore hub for receiving, storing, and loading liquefied CO2 onto the vessel.

Once established, the terminal will include six large storage tanks and essential infrastructure to support continuous and scalable CO2 transport to the offshore storage site.

Captured CO2– initially from Danish biogas plants – will be delivered to the terminal by truck, temporarily stored, and then transferred to Carbon Destroyer 1. From there, the vessel will sail to the Nini Field, where the CO2 will be injected over 1,800 meters beneath the seabed into depleted oil reservoirs that have been certified for safe, long-term storage.