The floating production, storage and offloading (FPSO) unit has reached its final destination in Europe, where it will be recycled at Modern American Recycling Services (MARS) in Denmark.
The Australian Government’s Department of Industry, Science and Resources (DISER) confirmed the plane’s arrival FPSO Northern Endeavor At Modern American Recycling Services (MARS) in Frederikshavn, Denmark. In preparation for its journey to Mars Main contractor, Petrofac Facilities Managementsupervised the work of the FPSO in SeatsYards in Singapore.
These works entailed cleaning the hull and removing the antifouling paint, repainting the hull to prevent any further deterioration, removing protrusions from the bottom of the hull that would have prevented the FPSO from loading onto the heavy transport vessel, eliminating the flares and weather towers to allow safe passage under bridges across the Suez Canal, and installing anchors to safely secure the FPSO to the heavy transport vessel.
The ship departed Singapore in February 2026 and made a voyage lasting approximately eight weeks Cosco Shipping and Heavy Transport‘s Hua Rui Long Semi-submersible heavy transport ship. Loading the FPSO onto Hua Rui Long required a coordinated effort, including eight tugs and two line handling vessels. The operation took 6.5 hours.
Hua Rui Long is described as one of the few ships worldwide capable of transporting something as large as the 274-metre-long FPSO. This is believed to be the third largest semi-submersible heavy transport vessel currently in operation.
“We will now work closely with MARS to recycle the FPSO safely and efficiently. The focus of the Northern Endeavor decommissioning program has now shifted to the second phase of connecting and permanently abandoning the oil wells. The supplier tender process to deliver this work has closed in December and assessments are ongoing.” According to the Australian Department of Industry, Science and Resources.
The FPSO was in production mode from 1999 to 2019 in the Timor Sea, about 550 kilometers northwest of Darwin. The unit produced oil from the Laminaria-Coralina fields located in oil production license area AC/L5.
The black gold produced, stored and discharged at the FPSO is classified as light crude oil. During the disassembly process, the first stage, Completed in April 2025experienced an FPSO cut off from its undersea lifeline.
While the second phase will permanently shut down the wells, the third phase involves stripping the seabed of infrastructure and remediating the field, which is overseen by the Australian Department of Industry, Science, Energy and Resources.
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