Yinson Production and “K” LINE ENERGY SHIPPING (UK) LIMITED have forged a strategic partnership to develop and market innovative solutions for the transportation and injection of liquefied CO2, targeting particularly carbon capture and storage (CCS) projects in Europe. This collaboration will focus on jointly creating floating storage and injection units (FSIUs) alongside liquefied CO2 carriers, aiming to leverage each company’s specialised expertise in offshore energy operations and liquefied gas shipping.
FSIUs are emerging as a vital component in offshore CCS, especially in scenarios where the construction of onshore CO2 receiving terminals is impractical due to limited land availability or where the distances between receiving terminals and storage sites are substantial enough to render pipelines inefficient or costly. This makes offshore floating units both a safe and cost-efficient alternative for sequestering large volumes of CO2. One notable project under consideration for FSIU applications is the Havstjerne CCS project in Norway, in which Yinson’s subsidiary Stella Maris CCS holds a 40% ownership stake.
Yinson Production brings invaluable experience from its operations in floating production, storage, and offloading vessels (FPSOs), as well as floating storage and offloading (FSO) vessels, complemented by its engineering and design capabilities in the offshore energy domain. Since 2021, Yinson has actively expanded its footprint in carbon capture technologies and the broader carbon value chain, signalling its commitment to the energy transition. “K” LINE Group, on the other hand, has a longstanding record in managing liquefied gas carriers and has operated two liquefied CO2 carriers since 2024 as part of the world’s pioneering commercial CO2 transport and storage services. Both firms also share ownership in FPSOs operating in Brazil and Ghana, underlining the solidity of their partnership as they eye deeper collaboration specifically tailored to CCS logistics.
This development comes amid a broader surge in CCS initiatives across Europe, indicative of the growing recognition of offshore sequestration’s pivotal role in meeting climate targets. For instance, in northern Europe, the Porthos project at Rotterdam port represents one of the continent’s most ambitious CCS undertakings. Launched in 2024, this €1.3 billion project involves capturing over one million tonnes of CO2 annually from refineries and industrial plants and transporting it via a 50-kilometre pipeline to a depleted gasfield in the North Sea for permanent storage. Shell is a significant participant in this initiative, which aims to demonstrate CCS’s viability for heavy industries such as steel and cement manufacturing.
Elsewhere, the Greensand Future project off Denmark, backed by British chemicals group INEOS and partners, is set to become the EU’s first fully operational CO2 storage facility. Backed by a substantial $197 million Danish government grant, the initiative plans to inject up to 400,000 tonnes of CO2 per year into a depleted oilfield, with expansion aspirations that could potentially raise storage capacity to 8 million tonnes annually by 2030. This milestone project aims to play a key role in supporting European climate goals.
Technological advancements in CO2 shipping and storage are also progressing rapidly. In March 2025, Knutsen NYK Carbon Carriers, a subsidiary of Nippon Yusen Kabushiki Kaisha (NYK), received an approval in principle for a new design of liquefied CO2 carriers utilising elevated pressure methods that store liquefied CO2 at ambient temperature. This design reduces energy consumption and overall costs. Coupled with innovations like Floating Liquefied Storage Units (FLSUs) integrating enhanced cooling and liquefaction processes, these technologies could significantly improve the economics and spatial requirements of CO2 liquefaction and storage facilities.
K Line itself has been actively expanding its CCS fleet since 2022 when it secured charter contracts for two 7,500 cubic metre liquefied CO2 vessels intended to serve the world’s first full-scale CCS project under the Northern Lights venture in Norway. This project aims to transport and permanently store up to 1.5 million tonnes of CO2 each year and plans for further capacity expansions.
Yinson’s growing CCS ambitions were highlighted in early 2025 when it acquired Stella Maris CCS, enhancing its access to the full CCS value chain and strengthening its presence in the low-carbon energy market, especially in Europe. The company views the new joint development with K Line as a natural extension of this strategy, combining deep operational know-how and maritime logistics expertise to better serve an evolving global carbon management industry.
In summary, the Yinson and K Line partnership reflects a broader momentum in Europe and globally towards scalable, offshore carbon capture and storage solutions. Through innovative floating and transport technologies, these collaborations aim to overcome geographical and technical challenges inherent in CO2 sequestration, accelerating the deployment of CCS as an essential tool in the fight against climate change.
Source: Noah Wire Services
