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submarines Alewijnse works on world’s largest
Diamond recovery vessel
ALEWIJNSE MARINE WINS A CONTRACT FOR THE COMPLETE ELECTRICAL INSTALLATION ON THE WORLD’S NEWEST AND LARGEST OFFSHORE DIAMOND RECOVERY VESSEL.
ALL IMAGES COURTESY OF ALEWIJNSE
Alewijnse has started preparations for the complete electrical installation on board of what will be the world’s largest and most advanced offshore diamond recovery vessel. Designated an Additional Mining Vessel (AMV) by its owner De Beers Marine Namibia, the ship will be the seventh member of the fleet. Alewijnse is once again working with the Damen Shipyards Group, this time at Damen Shipyard Mangalia in Romania. This is the group’s flagship facility for the largest and most complex vessels, including big offshore vessels and offshore structures. “We won this contract based on our reputation and years of experience on special projects,” says Petrică Crăciun, Sales Manager at Alewijnse Marine Galati. “We have worked with the Damen Group on challenging one‐off projects before. This will be our first time at Damen Shipyards Mangalia but once again, we will have the opportunity to demonstrate our know‐how, flexibility, and capabilities beyond conventional ships and into sophisticated, special‐purpose vessels.”
Tight timeframe The AMV3 is a complex vessel and the build involves partners from both the mining industry and maritime sector. Its function demands a wide array of sophisticated systems requiring electrical power, control, and monitoring. Paramount among these is the latest sub‐sea crawling technology that recovers the diamonds from the seabed. This involves a 300‐tonne crawler machine which deploys a mechanical arm that moves in a horizontal arc, dredging material from the sea floor immediately below the hull at depths of around 130m. A large onboard processing plant then sifts the dredged gravel on board the ship, removing the diamonds and sealing them in metal canisters. Another large and complex system is the seven thruster, DP2 dynamic positioning system that will be powered by six generators of 3,230 ekW each. Alewijnse is preparing to start work on board and looks forward to the challenge, explains Project Manager Cătălin Androne, who is leading the Alewijnse team. “This is a
Debmarine Namibia’s new Additional Mining Vessel will be the world’s largest and most advanced offshore diamond recovery vessel.
new type of vessel for us and our first time at the Mangalia yard, so we will be learning a great deal as we proceed. But it’s always good to be working with Damen. The time allowed for the works is very tight, but we are quite used to that! Good coordination and effective planning will be the keys to success and our own steelwork team will also be a valuable asset.”
Ahead of schedule Constructed from a Marin Teknikk design, the vessel will be 177m long, slightly larger than the current largest vessel in the Debmarine Namibia fleet, Mafuta. The project started during the summer of 2019 with steel fabrication and cutting. According to Chris Groninger, Managing Director of Damen Shipyard Mangalia, all vessel sections are in assembly stage and have been delivered. More than half of the vessel has been pre‐erected and is ready to go into the dry dock. The Wärtsilä main engines were delivered to Romania three months ahead of schedule, and have successfully passed the Factory Acceptance Test (FAT) in Finland. On 11 March 2020, the keel laying ceremony was held at Damen Shipyards Mangalia. Debmarine Namibia’s Captain Jerzy Mazgaj, Master of the Vessel seconded to the project team in Romania, was invited to weld two commemorative coins on the vessel’s bulkhead.
Mission equipment In total, the vessel will take around two years to build. Damen Shipyards Mangalia will deliver the vessel platform in Mangalia and the vessel will sail on its own keel to Cape Town, South Africa. De Beers Marine (South Africa) is constructing the mission equipment, including the subsea crawler and diamond recovery plant. This will be integrated into the vessel by De Beers Marine once it arrives in South Africa. The vessel is planned to deliver its first diamond production in the second quarter of 2022. Debmarine Namibia operates the largest offshore mine worldwide, working at a
Alewijnse Marine will be delivering the complete electrical installation to the diamond recovery vessel.
water depth of between 90 and 150m off Namibia’s southwestern coast.
