Eastern Pacific Shipping (EPS) has signed an agreement with Value Maritime to install carbon capture and filtering systems on MR tankers Pacific Cobalt and Pacific Gold.
The installation of the first system is scheduled to be completed within 2022 with engineering and planning underway, while the agreement also has an option to equip three more vessels.
The sister vessels will be fitted with a prefabricated gas cleaning system that filters sulphur and 99% of particulate matter. The system will include a Carbon Capture Module charging a CO2 battery onboard. The charged CO2 battery will be discharged in port and subsequently used by CO2 customers, such as greenhouses, or injected into carbon sequestration networks. The discharged battery will be returned to the vessel for CO2 recharging. This ‘plug and play’ approach allows vessels to capture up to 40% of CO2 emissions today, with the potential of exceeding 90% in the future.
EPS CEO Cyril Ducau stated:
We believe that carbon capture technology holds significant promise for reducing emissions for existing and future ocean-going vessels. Coupled with alternative fuels, biofuels and other solutions, carbon capture is a crucial step in accelerating the shipping industry’s decarbonisation efforts ahead of IMO targets
In addition to its carbon capture capabilities, the Filtree System also removes oil residue and particulate matter from the wash water, ensuring its PH value is neutralised and contributes to reducing the acidification of seawater.
Installation onboard M/T Pacific Cobalt is expected to be completed by the end of 2022, while the installation onboard M/T Pacific Gold is scheduled to be completed by the end of Q1 2023.
In addition to the retrofits, EPS and VM are exploring future collaboration opportunities, such as deploying the Filtree System onboard EPS newbuilds, including a new generation of containerships.
