Carbon capture: A bonus cargo?

What are the realities associated with carbon capture directly onboard vessels? Co-authors Diederik Westerkamp and Johan-Paul Verschuure, of the Rebel Group, chart the pros and cons of securing this new cargo stream.

What can capturing carbon emissions directly onboard the vessel mean for the port industry? Pilot projects are underway to examine feasibility.

Onboard carbon capture could turn this CO2 into a new cargo flow for ports: large container ships calling at Rotterdam alone could bring around 1.7 million tonnes of it a year by 2050. Other vessel segments will only add to this volume.

Only ports combining large throughput with carbon storage projects will be able to create enough demand to reach the threshold for investing in the industry in the medium term. The business case for liners is complex and risky still as every CO2 tank takes space from containers, forcing a trade-off between lost slots and saved carbon allowances- now and in the future.

This story was originally published by Port Strategy. Read the full story at Port Strategy →