Mammoet has used its Focus30 crane to support the outfitting of the Benguela Gem diamond recovery vessel.
Owned and operated by Debmarine Namibia – a joint venture between Namibia and De Beers Group – the ship is one of the most technologically advanced vessels in the marine diamond industry, valued at more than USD420 million. The ship was designed and built in Europe, while the mission equipment, consisting of large modules, was built in Cape Town, South Africa.
Mammoet was tasked with lifting and installing 10 modules weighing up to 428 tonnes, including the lower and upper launch and recovery towers, a winch and a crawler.
Using the Focus30, which can be erected vertically, meant that no laydown area was required during the assembly of the crane’s boom. Its low ground bearing pressure of below 10 tonnes per sq m meant that no special ground civil works was needed at the berth.
Once the vessel arrived for outfitting in Cape Town, it took three weeks to install the modules on the deck – 10 days ahead of schedule.
The Benguela Gem has set sail off the coast of Namibia, commencing recovery operations that are expected to add an additional 500,000 carats of high-quality diamonds to yearly marine diamond production.
