Direct ocean capture and storage projects are a carbon-removal project type within the ocean & water segment of the carbon market. They use technologies that remove CO2 from seawater and store it in durable geological, mineral, or approved ocean pathways. In practice, CO2 is removed from seawater, enabling additional atmospheric uptake, and then stored durably. Common project configurations include Direct ocean capture with geologic storage or related approved storage pathways.

This family of approaches seeks to remove dissolved or atmospheric carbon via marine systems, but storage accounting and ecological safeguards are decisive. Ocean-based pathways are developing quickly and can be scientifically compelling, but they generally require especially careful MRV, strong ecological safeguards, and a clear accounting framework for permanence and reversals. For buyers and program designers, the most important diligence questions are: How is net atmospheric removal demonstrated? Is storage durable and well monitored? Are marine side-effects controlled?