Two regulatory approvals just moved onboard carbon capture from a pilot curiosity toward something you may eventually see priced into your ocean freight quote. Project CAPTURED, the consortium behind the first end-to-end demonstration of a captured and liquefied CO2 (LCO2) chain at sea, has cleared two regulatory milestones covering how CO2 taken off a vessel is handled and moved onward. The June 2025 pilot proved the physical chain works. The paperwork was the missing piece, and that is the part that just changed.
What Happened
Project CAPTURED finished its demonstration in June 2025. CO2 was captured on board a working vessel, liquefied, offloaded ship to ship, then carried overland to a receiving point. Nobody had run that full chain before. The gap it closed was the awkward middle: what happens to the CO2 after it leaves the funnel and before it reaches a storage site.
The two new milestones are regulatory rather than technical. They deal with the pathways governing how captured CO2 leaves a ship and enters the shore-side chain, which is what decides whether a port can accept the volume, whether a barge can legally carry it, and whether those tonnes count on anyone's emissions ledger. Without that, capture equipment on a vessel is an expensive tank of gas with nowhere to go.
Impact on Freight Rates and Operations
Nothing shifts on your rate sheet this month. The reason to watch it is the EU Emissions Trading System, which covers 70% of verified emissions on qualifying voyages in 2025 and rises to 100% in 2026. Carriers already pass that cost to you as an ETS surcharge, billed per container on FCL and per CBM or tonne on LCL. If onboard capture becomes a recognised way to cut the reportable figure, the lines that install it get a lever on that surcharge their competitors do not have.
The second effect is on space. Capture and liquefaction gear, plus the LCO2 storage tank, take up volume that previously held cargo or fuel. On a retrofit that tank has to go somewhere, and on smaller ships it means fewer slots. Expect the first commercial deployments on short-sea and regional trades with predictable port rotations, because the offload leg only works if a receiving terminal sits at the other end.
What Shippers Should Do
- Read the surcharge line, not just the base rate. Ask your forwarder to break out ETS and any carbon adjustment as separate items so you can compare two carriers on the same basis.
- Ask your carrier where it stands on OCCS. Lines piloting capture will want to talk about it. Lines with no plan will be buying allowances at 100% coverage from 2026, and you pay for that.
- Check whether your lane touches the EU. Intra-EU voyages sit at full scope and voyages with one EU leg sit at half. A Shanghai to Rotterdam booking carries the charge. Shanghai to Jebel Ali does not.
- Measure your volume before you accept a quote. Carbon costs land on the chargeable unit, so a sloppy CBM figure on an LCL booking now costs you twice.
Key Takeaway
Onboard carbon capture finally has a legal route from ship to storage, which turns it from a demonstration into a cost line carriers can plan around and pass on.
Plan Your Shipment: Use our free CBM Calculator, Container Load Calculator, and LCL vs FCL Calculator to plan your next shipment.
Source: Hellenic Shipping News