The European Union’s net-zero emissions goal by 2050 requires large-scale CO2 capture and storage to decarbonize industries and enable atmospheric CO2 removal. The 2024 Industrial Carbon Management Strategy targets capturing and storing 250 million tonnes of CO2 annually by 2050, necessitating a robust transport network of 15,000–19,000 km of pipelines, complemented by ships, rail, and road. Ships are critical for flexible, cost-effective transport, especially for smaller or isolated emitters and regions lacking pipeline access, such as those relying on North Sea or Mediterranean storage. Europe’s 200,000 km natural gas pipeline network and the U.S.’s 8,000 km CO2 pipeline system highlight the feasibility of such infrastructure. Emerging CO2 networks, including offshore pipelines and onshore systems in countries like Belgium and the Netherlands, face high costs and long lead times. A cohesive EU regulatory framework is vital to ensure safe, equitable, and cost-optimized access to CO2 transport infrastructure, including ships, while addressing monopoly risks and cross-border coordination to support decarbonization.