The project was announced at Gastech 2026 in Bangkok. Image Credit: LR

• Lloyd's Register, Seapeak, Kongsberg Maritime, and Tunable launch joint development project at Gastech
• Kongsberg continuous emissions monitoring system to be fitted on an LNG carrier delivering in early 2027
• Measured CO2 to be compared with engine test bed data and default emission factors, with LR as independent verifier
• Partners to assess whether direct measurement can be used under IMO and EU reporting rules

Class society Lloyd's Register (LR), LNG carrier owner Seapeak, and technology firms Kongsberg Maritime and Tunable have launched a joint development project to test whether directly measured CO2 emissions from a ship can stand in for the default emission factors that shipping's regulatory reporting currently rests on.

The project, announced at Gastech 2026 in Bangkok, will fit Kongsberg's continuous emissions monitoring system, which incorporates Tunable's gas analysers, on a newbuild LNG carrier scheduled for delivery in early 2027, with monitoring and analysis continuing through the year, LR said in an emailed press release on Wednesday.

The partners will compare the CO2 recorded on board against both the engine's test bed data and the default emission factors, quantify the differences, and assess whether direct measurement can be accepted under the IMO and EU reporting frameworks, with LR acting as independent verifier.

"The industry currently relies on default emissions factors and test bed data to estimate environmental performance," said Panos Mitrou, LR's senior vice president for shipping strategy.

"This initiative enables industry stakeholders the opportunity to compare estimated emissions performance against direct measurements from a vessel operating in real world conditions."

Kongsberg sales director Eirik Agren said integrating the emissions readings with fuel, engine, and operational data would allow the measurements to be corroborated and placed in context, strengthening confidence in the reported figures.

Seapeak, which has interests in 52 LNG carriers including 10 newbuildings, said it wanted to evaluate how continuous monitoring can improve emissions insight and identify further reductions across its fleet.

The release refers only to CO2, but the Kongsberg system also measures methane, and Seapeak was the first shipping company to join the UN's OGMP 2.0 methane reporting framework, committing to better measurement across its LNG fleet.

With methane slip the figure the LNG sector is under most pressure to pin down, verified onboard data of the kind this project is designed to produce is likely to be watched well beyond CO2.