Debmarine Namibia’s new hero in Cape Town

With only five days to go to Heroes Day, Debmarine Namibia’s new hero, the mv SS Nujoma sailed into Cape Town harbour where she will be fit and rigged for her next struggle as a diamond mining vessel off the southern Namib coastline.
Debmarine Namibia’s new diamond exploration and sampling vessel arrived in Cape Town last weekend after it undertook a 3 week maiden voyage from Norway.
The mission equipment was built in the Port of Cape Town in parallel with the construction of the vessel. The equipment consists of the sampling system and treatment plant, built in large modules, with a combined mass of 2 000 tons. These modules will be lifted onto the vessel using a 750 ton crane. The heaviest lift weighing just over 220 tons.
The integration of the mission equipment into the vessel, is the final construction phase of the SS Nujoma project journey before the vessel sets sail for Namibian waters. The project is managed by De Beers Marine on behalf of Debmarine Namibia. The mv SS Nujoma will be commissioned in Namibia’s Atlantic 1 diamond mining licence area in early 2017.
The Debmarine Namibia CEO, Mr Otto Shikongo said, “Debmarine Namibia is satisfied with the progress of the project to date. It is a good position to be in on this large investment, with the project currently being two months ahead of schedule and cost forecasts looking favourable. The strength in our relationship with De Beers Marine and our shared desire to continuously improve marine mining technology enables the success of this ambitious project”.
“This project is made challenging by its unique nature, challenging performance and capability objectives. The project is truly global in nature, given that the vessel was designed and built in Norway, the mission equipment designed and built in South Africa, with specialised equipment supplied from companies in Southern Africa, Europe, Canada, Asia and the USA. The first phase of construction has been completed, ahead of schedule, which is a commendable achievement for all the parties involved. As we start the critical integration phase, we look forward to maintaining the momentum and delivering the mv SS Nujoma to Debmarine Namibia in early 2017,” said De Beers Marine Project Head Michael Curtis.
The mv SS Nujoma commissioning is expected to create up to 141 new jobs supporting the government call for increased employment creation. A significant investment has been made in training and skills development of the 90% Namibian crew. The crew underwent training in Europe, on the latest modern dynamic positioning (DP) vessel technology and latest marine engines training which enabled them to sail the vessel, through international waters. Further training will also be received on the operation and maintenance of mission equipment – specialist skills and knowledge transfers from designers and suppliers to crew.
The construction of the mv SS Nujoma was made possible by co-funding from two local commercial banks, namely Standard Bank Namibia and RMB Namibia. Debmarine Namibia covered 25% of total project cost.