Capital Maritime Orders Large LCO2 Carriers

HD Korea Shipbuilding and Offshore Engineering, an intermediate holding company of HD Hyundai, has won a $141 million contract to build two 22,000-cubic-meter-class liquefied carbon dioxide carriers (LCO2) for Greek ship operator Capital Maritime Group.

The carriers will be built at Hyundai Mipo Dockyard in Ulsan and will be delivered in phases in the second half of 2025.

In addition to LCO2, the 159.9-meter-long vessels will be designed for the transport of other liquefied gases, such as LPG and ammonia. They will also be equipped with “ammonia-ready” engines capable of running on ammonia fuel in the future.

The demand for LCO2 carriers is expected to grow as the global carbon capture and storage market expands to meet emissions targets.

“Moving forward, we expect to see orders for large, mega-sized LCO2 carriers,” a spokesperson for HD KSOE said. “We will lead this market based on our achievements in technological developments that we have preemptively accumulated.”

“We hope to lead the carbon dioxide carrier market with HD Hyundai, the firm that is the most well-prepared in terms of technology in the next-generation eco-friendly shipbuilding sector,” Capital Maritime Group added in a statement.