The aged Northern Endeavour floating production, storage and offloading (FPSO) vessel has arrived at a recycling facility in Frederikshavn, Denmark, ready to be dismantled. The vessel produced oil from the Laminaria-Corallina fields offshore Australia for two decades until the fields were abandoned due to safety concerns. After the operator went into administration, the Australian federal government took ownership of the stranded vessel.

Decommissioning and Transport Operations

In 2022, Petrofac assumed operatorship and decommissioning responsibility, awarding a key dismantling contract to a European facility. Petrofac's preparatory work in Australia included topsides cleaning, well suspension, pipeline flushing, hull cleaning, and disconnecting the FPSO from its subsea wells in the Timor Sea. The company then managed the complex wet tow of the 55,000-tonne vessel to Singapore. There, it was loaded onto the semi-submersible transport vessel *Hua Rui Long* in an operation requiring eight tugs and two line-handling vessels. The FPSO subsequently completed an eight-week voyage to Denmark via the Suez Canal.

Project Significance and Recycling Process

A Petrofac representative stated the arrival marks a pivotal moment for the project and Australia's decommissioning sector, providing a robust blueprint for future projects. The recycling yard, Modern American Recycling Services (MARS), stated the next steps involve detailed mapping, hazard assessment, and thorough cleaning and decontamination of the vessel. The dismantling process aims to recycle approximately 95% of the vessel's materials, with recovered metal sent to European steel mills for reuse.