Update on February 16, 2026 (see at the end of the press release)
The logistic navy support was coming from Caen French harbour. Yesterday, French media Mer et Marine announced that the 44-year-old Ocean Endeavour had discreetly left the Normandy “to serve as a floating barracks in Greenland”. The Paris based NGO Robin des Bois (Robin Hood) is able to add to this information. The old car ferry, converted into a cruise ship in 2004, is indeed docked in the port of Nuuk. She arrived there, Sunday February 1, at 12:18 p.m. local time.
Nuuk Port, Greenland. In dark blue, the Ocean Endeavour; below, in turquoise, the Thetis, a frigate of the Royal Danish Navy.
Screenshot Marine Traffic, February 2, 2026, 2 p.m. (UTC+2)
The Ocean Endeavour was still for sale in January 2026 for 13 million US$ (10.9 million €).
As part of Operation Arctic Endurance, she was recently chartered by the Danish Navy to serve as accommodation for the small French, German, Swedish, Finnish, Dutch and Belgian troops, reinforced by a few Icelandic and Norwegian elements. No doubt these muffled up infantrymen on skis, dog sleds will find comfort in the sauna on deck 8, the jacuzzi on deck 7, the swimming pool on deck 6 and the 164 double cabins (for the more fortunate). They will also be able to relax in the bars and restaurants on deck 6 and in the internet café, unless all connections are suspended for safety reasons. When docked, the Ocean Endeavour burns 5 tonnes of fuel per day for her energy needs, which is sure to give a sweet smell to the Greenlandic capital. After a short decantation in the 104 m³ sewage tank, the wastewater will enrich the Nuuk fjord.
Rights reserved
In addition to photos of the inside of the Ocean Endeavour, Robin des Bois has a copy of the plan from deck 9 to the bottoms of the ship, but will be careful not to distribute it so as not to provide useful information for a possible aggression by a hostile missile.
In addition to its port of departure and probable mediation, France can take pride in another contribution. It is Bureau Veritas that certifies the seaworthiness of the private and out of date cruise ship, which has become for a while a Royal Danish Navy auxiliary ship.
The Ocean Endeavour is owned by Endeavour Partners Unipessoal (Portugal). She is managed by SunStone Ships (Miami, United States), which specialises in polar cruises. Its Expedition (ex-Ocean Adventurer, ex-Sea Adventurer, ex-Clipper Adventurer, ex-Alla Tarasova) is the sistership of the mythical Lyubov Orlova (see “Shipbreaking” n°36, pages 66-69), which was colonized by rats and disappeared in the middle of the Atlantic Ocean in February 2013 after a failed attempt to tow her from the port of Saint John in Canada to a breaking yard in Santo Domingo. The 51-year-old Expedition is currently in Antarctica, carrying around at the risk of their lives (and those of the whales) a maximum of 160 passengers and 81 crew members.
Ocean Endeavour (ex-Kristina Katarina, ex-The Iris, ex-Francesca, ex-Konstantin Simonov). IMO 7625811. Built in 1982 in Szczecin (Poland) by Stocznia Szczecinska. Ex-car-ferry converted in cruise ship in December 2004.Portuguese flag since February 2022. Previously Bahamas Islands (2015). Detained in Quebec City (Canada) on May 31, 2022 for non-compliance with fire safety regulations (inoperative equipment) and emergency systems (problem with communications with the emergency centre). She was released one day later on condition that repairs and upgrades would be carried out at the next port of call.
Certified Ice Class 1B, she can navigate in moderate ice conditions (ice thickness up to 0.6 metres). On November 15, 2015 at 3:30 a.m., with 167 passengers on board, she was damaged by ice near the South Shetland Islands and the Antarctic Peninsula. The captain had temporary repairs carried out to ensure safety, but more extensive repairs were necessary and the rest of the cruise was cancelled. The passengers were disembarked in Ushuaia on November 17.
Ocean Endeavour under the name Kristina Katarina, July 23, 2012, Shetland Islands
© Ronnie Robertson
About Greenland, see also press release n°1:
58 years ago, plutonium-239 belonging to the US Air Force crashed into Greenland, January 20, 2026
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