Maersk Drilling has decided to decommission the jack-up rig Maersk Endurer from the fleet and recycle it with Zhoushan Changhong International Ship Recycling in China.
“Given the current market situation and the over-supply of drilling rigs in the offshore market, there is a strong need to retire older rigs. Therefore, Maersk Drilling has decided to decommission its oldest rig in the fleet, Maersk Endurer,” says Morten Pilnov , Head of Global Sales in Maersk Drilling.
According to Maersk Drilling’s press release, the rig will be transported to Zhoushan Changhong International Ship Recycling mid-July 2015, and it will take approximately 15 weeks to recycle the rig.
“It is Maersk Drilling’s ambition to decommission Maersk Endurer in a safe and responsible way with minimal environmental impact. Therefore, Maersk Drilling has chosen Zhoushan Changhong International Ship Recycling to recycle Maersk Endurer. Maersk Drilling has furthermore engaged Sea2Cradle to carry out inspections and supervise the entire process, ” Morten Pilnov explains.
Pilonov added: “We chose this option because we consider it to be the safest and most cost-effective approach, with the lowest environmental risks. Zhoushan Changhong International Ship Recycling is a state-of-the-art rig recycling facility, and the facility complies with the Hong Kong International Convention for the Safe and Environmentally Sound Recycling of Ships and the European Union Ship Recycling Regulation.”
The Maersk Endurer is Maersk Drilling’s oldest rig in the fleet. The rig was built in 1984, and has latest been working offshore Cameroon.