Northern Lights Names Second CO2 Carrier ‘NORTHERN PATHFINDER’ In Oslo
A naming ceremony for the liquefied carbon dioxide (CO₂) carrier “NORTHERN PATHFINDER” was held in Oslo, Norway, on June 17, 2025. It is the second of three vessels built for Northern Lights JV DA, a joint venture dedicated to CO₂ transport and storage. All three ships will be managed by Kawasaki Kisen Kaisha, Ltd. (“K” LINE), which has been entrusted with their ship management.
Norway’s Minister of Education, other government officials, Northern Lights Managing Director Tim Heijn, and project members attended the event. “K” LINE was represented by its Director and Board Chairperson, Yukikazu Myochin.
The same day and the next, Norway’s Ministry of Energy hosted the Longship Launch Event to officially begin the Longship Project. As part of the celebrations, members of the Norwegian Royal Family, top government officials, and stakeholders from the project boarded the NORTHERN PATHFINDER on June 18.
The vessel is part of the world’s first international full-scale carbon capture and storage (CCS) value chain project. It will transport liquefied CO2 collected from industrial sites in Norway to a receiving terminal located in Øygarden, on Norway’s west coast. From there, the captured carbon will be safely stored beneath the seabed of the North Sea.
The NORTHERN PATHFINDER was built by Dalian Shipbuilding Industry Co., Ltd. and delivered on December 27, 2024. It has since arrived in Norway for operations.
Northern Lights JV DA, which oversees this project, was founded in March 2021 as a joint investment by Equinor, Shell, and TotalEnergies. The company is responsible for transporting and storing liquefied CO2 as part of the Longship Project, which is led by the Norwegian government.
The Longship Project includes all key stages of CCS-capturing, transporting, and permanently storing CO2, and Northern Lights is tasked with the shipping and storage segment. The project aims to make large-scale CO2 reduction possible, especially from industrial sources.
“K” LINE confirmed that the vessel will be operated by its London-based subsidiary, “K” LINE ENERGY SHIPPING (UK) LIMITED. The company also shared that the NORTHERN PATHFINDER and the first vessel, NORTHERN PIONEER, will both begin transporting CO2 this summer.
Reference: KLine