The world’s most advanced diamond recovery vessel, the Benguela Gem, was officially unveiled in Namibia on 18th March at an inauguration ceremony attended by His Excellency, President Hage Geingob, Minister of Mines and Energy, Tom Alweendo and De Beers Group CEO, Bruce Cleaver. The vessel commenced operations this week, well ahead of its original schedule.
The ~$420 million custom-built vessel will add an additional 500,000 carats of high value diamonds to Debmarine Namibia’s annual production, an increase of around 45%, while creating 160 high-skilled jobs for Namibians.
Debmarine Namibia is a 50/50 joint venture between De Beers Group and the Namibian Government. The Benguela Gem joins the world-class Debmarine Namibia fleet, which responsibly recovers some of the world’s highest quality diamonds.
The Benguela Gem was designed in Norway and Poland, built in Romania and fitted out with its proprietary mission equipment by De Beers Marine South Africa. Taking two years to construct, it is the most technically advanced diamond recovery vessel in the world, underpinned by high standards of sustainability and safety performance.
Diamond recovery by Debmarine Namibia takes place at 90 to 150 metres below sea level and is the single biggest contributor to Namibia’s economy. The additional 500,000 high value carats produced by Benguela Gem will add to the more than N$10 billion revenue that the partnership between De Beers Group and the Namibian Government delivers to Namibia each year.