ClassNK has released “Guidelines for Shipboard CO2 Capture and Storage Systems”. The guidelines include provisions for indicating the class notation for vessels equipped with CO2 capture and storage systems or designed as “ready” for their installation.

In addition to fuel transition, interest in capturing CO2 from ships’ exhaust gas is growing as a way to reduce GHG emissions, and the development of onboard systems for capturing and storing CO2 is being undertaken. ClassNK has joined “Carbon Capture on the Ocean (CC-Ocean)” project with Mitsubishi Shipbuilding Co., Ltd. and Kawasaki Kisen Kaisha, Ltd. on the world’s first marine-based CO2 capture system on actual voyage, and has been involved in the evaluation and verification of the entire project from a safety perspective.

Incorporating the experience gained from this actual project, ClassNK has published the guidelines that cover an overview of shipboard CO2 capture and storage systems, including safety requirements related to the systems and their installation on the ships, and provisions for the notation indicating the vessels are equipped with such systems or designed as “ready” for their installation.

Furthermore, when utilizing shipboard CO2 capture and storage systems, considerations should be required not only for additional equipment installation space, such as CO2 absorption units and CO2 storage tanks but also for additional energy for heating the amine solutions and driving pumps. As the supporting reference for initial studies, the guidelines’ appendix provides the methods for estimating both the dimensions of principal additional equipment and additional energy.