INTERTANKO managing director Tim Wilkins has highlighted significant limitations in international and European regulatory frameworks governing CO2 transport by sea, warning that current legislation could impede the scaling of carbon capture and storage infrastructure crucial to meeting EU climate targets.
Mr Wilkins says INTERTANKO began discussing CO2 transport by tankers two years ago, focusing on establishing legal parameters for cross-border transport. He notes a "slight shortcoming" in the London Protocol regarding the limited framework for bilateral agreements, emphasising members would have greater confidence with a more transparent regulatory framework for CO2 as cargo rather than waste.
A persistent concern has been the European Commission’s focus on intra-EU transport, adds Mr Wilkins, which becomes problematic when considering storage capacity constraints. Both INTERTANKO and the Joint Research Council [the European Commission’s science and knowledge service that provides independent, evidence-based scientific and technical support for EU policies] have highlighted the EU lacks sufficient storage capacity to meet its decarbonisation targets, making extra-EU transport essential.
Shipping offers the flexibility pipeline networks may lack, especially for connecting diverse emissions sources to suitable storage sites across long distances and international borders, says Mr Wilkins. The poster child for this today is the Northern Lights project’s commercial agreement for cross-border CO2 capture and transport from the Netherlands to Norway. He is keen to see such agreements proliferate.
Engagement with EU policymakers has been complex but constructive, says Mr Wilkins, and has started with the Net Zero Industry Act. The organisation is advocating for expanding the definition of CO2 transport beyond pipelines to include shipping. INTERTANKO has also intervened during the development of the EU Monitoring and Reporting Directive [the regulatory framework established to ensure accurate, transparent and consistent monitoring and reporting of greenhouse gas emissions across the European Union] to ensure the explicit inclusion of maritime transport.
During fact-finding meetings with the Commission in September 2024, Mr Wilkins noted the policy officers’ limited knowledge about shipping’s role in CO2 transport. "In fairness to them, they were extremely inquisitive and open to understanding how can shipping assist with this. They were interested in vessel build schedules, how long it takes from commission to actually concluding a newbuild vessel, what sort of costs are involved. The European Commission was also quite surprised that we, from the shipping industry, were asking for regulations," Mr Wilkins adds. "This is because the safe transport is already well catered for through the International Gas Carrier Code and the IMO process."
The clock is of course ticking. On the one hand, The European Commission has been tasked with implementing a CO2 transport regulatory package this year. At the same time, as Mr Wilkins points out, "If the transport of CO2 by ship is not explicitly recognised as a legitimate form of export, whether within the EU or internationally, the risks associated with ordering an LCO2 carrier increase significantly. This lack of regulatory clarity could deter potential investors and operators from entering this emerging market."
Approximately 150 organisations, including pipeline operators, engineering firms and potential CO2 traders, are actively developing CO2 transport initiatives in Brussels. A crucial meeting of these stakeholders is scheduled for 27 February in the Belgian capital, where Mr Wilkins and representatives from member companies will attend and present.
While acknowledging INTERTANKO is "just on the fringe" of that larger group, Mr Wilkins emphasises the importance of its participation in strengthening shipping’s voice within the emerging CO2 transport framework.
"It’s a good time to be at the beginning of this," Mr Wilkins concludes. "It’ll be interesting to look back in five or 10 years’ time and see how the industry has evolved, both as a sector in the decarbonisation discussion and as a part of shipping and transport."
source: Riviera news
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