Staff Writer
Debmarine Namibia has announced that its AMV3 (Additional Mining Vessel number 3) mining vessel currently under construction in Romania is expected to be ready for its pilot ocean launch in October 2020 at the Damen Mangalia Shipyard.
The diamond mining company said despite Covid-19 the AMV3 vessel project execution is moving ahead.
“As the company that prides itself on safety, the project management team developed and implemented a COVID-19 response plan and special care has been taken to mitigate safety and health risks of the project employees,” the company said.
“The project is progressing well on all performance metrics and is still forecast to complete on time and within budget. The mission equipment is being built in the Port of Cape Town concurrently with the construction of the vessel. The mission equipment consists of the recovery tool known as the Crawler that is launched off the back of the vessel and lowered onto the seabed, and the Treatment Plant positioned on the vessel. Crawler steel fabrication has been delivered and assembly is underway. Local service provider, Belmet Namibia, delivered part of the steel works manufactured in Walvis Bay.”
Debmarine said the vessel will make its maiden voyage in early 2021 when it sails to Cape Town, to be fitted with the mission equipment, before it sails to Namibian waters to commence operations.
When completed, the N$7 billion vessel is expected to create more than 161 new jobs and contribute additional 500,000 carats annually to Debmarine Namibia’s production, an increase of approximately 35 per cent on current production.
Upon completion, this will be the seventh vessel in Debmarine Namibia’s fleet.
Debmarine currently owns, manages and maintains five diamond recovery vessels and one exploration and sampling vessel a fairly new vessel acquired three years ago, the MV SS Nujoma. The recovery vessels are: MV Mafuta, MV Grand Banks, MV Debmar Pacific, MV Debmar Atlantic and MV !Gariep all operating in Atlantic 1 mining licence area. This new vessel will be the biggest in the Debmarine Namibia fleet.
