New liquid CO2 ship for Yara

Yara Gerda is a new dedicated liquid carbon dioxide (CO2) marine tanker replacing an older tanker. Yara’s CO2 is used in the beverage business (carbonation), food business (chilling, freezing), air catering (cold chain assurance) and greenhouse businesses. Yara is Europe's No.1 producer and No.3 retailer of liquid CO2.

“CO2 touches our lives every day,” says Petter Østbø, Yara’s Vice President Gas and Industrial Applications.“It provides us with the fizz in our beverages, the freshness of our groceries and of our meals on flights. Being a major European player in this market means that Yara adds something positive to the daily lives of millions of Europeans.”

Why ships?

Reliability is at the core of Yara’s value proposition as a CO2 supplier. This is a business with peaks and seasonality, especially around the summer. Customers’ processes rely on continuous, just-in-time deliveries. Some customers receive Yara CO2 several times a day. Any delivery delay has the potential to rapidly halt production at our customers who depend on our CO2.

“Supply reliability is clearly an important part of our value proposition - and a unique supply concept is the key enabler and differentiator,” says Mathieu Amar, Yara’s Commercial Director CO2.

The Yara CO2 tanker fleet connects Yara production sites in Sluiskil (NL), Porsgrunn (NO), Fredericia (DK), Dormagen (DE) and Wilton (UK) to terminals in Hamburg (DE), Montoir (FR), Billingham (UK) and on the Thames (UK).

The three ships, which are identical, carry the largest CO2 tanks in Europe. They provide a cost effective means to transport CO2 and an unrivalled supply reliability to customers across western Europe.

Europe’s largest tanks

The modernized fleet has nearly double the cargo capacity than the previous one. The tanks on board Yara’s ships are identical and the largest in Europe. Each can carry up to 1800 tonnes, the equivalent of 90 full tanker truck loads.

All three ships are fitted with Yara’s own SCR (Selective Catalytic Reduction) NOx reduction technology, which reduces the ships’ harmful NOx emissions by 80% -- a testament to Yara’s role as an industry shaper in air quality.

“We are happy to make a positive impact on European air quality at sea and in the harbors where we have our terminals. Our new ships emit less NOx than required by legislation”, concluded Østbø.

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