A new Lloyd's Register Advisory report commissioned by the International Chamber of Shipping provides the most detailed independent assessment of onboard carbon capture and storage (OCCS) for ships. The technology is feasible with capture rates of 70 to 95 percent on some vessel types, but scalable deployment depends on solving three problems: integration into existing ship designs, building port infrastructure to receive captured carbon, and creating a regulatory framework that rewards operators. The report covers multiple technologies including amine chemical absorption, calcium looping, and membrane separation, with Wartsila, CSSC 711, and Seabound among the leading developers. The economics remain challenging. A retrofit on the tanker Stena Impero showed an abatement cost of $69 per tonne of CO2, well above current carbon prices in most jurisdictions. Port reception infrastructure is the critical bottleneck, with fewer than 10 ports globally having CO2 reception facilities, almost all in Northern Europe. The EU Emissions Trading System currently provides the only direct financial incentive for OCCS, while IMO measures like EEDI and CII offer no credit. The report targets a full regulatory framework by 2028, but bilateral agreements between Northern European countries are already enabling cross-border CO2 transport for North Sea storage.
