Kleven signs MoU with De Beers Marine Namibia

Norwegian shipbuilding group Kleven has signed an MoU with the Namibian offshore diamond mining company, De Beers Marine Namibia for the building of an offshore vessel purpose-designed to support seabed mining operations, the group said in a media release.

The vessel, designed by Norwegian design company Marin Teknikk, will be 176m in total, making it the longest vessel to date to be built at the Kleven yard in Ulsteinvik, Norway.

‘We are really pleased to continue our partnership with De Beers Marine Namibia, and to work with them on the realization of this extraordinary vessel. At this stage it is an MoU, but both parties have every intention of turning this into a firm agreement during the first few months of 2018,’ CEO of Kleven, Ståle Rasmussen said.

In June 2016, Kleven delivered the first vessel to De Beers Marine Namibia, the SS Nujoma - the world's largest and most advanced vessel for deep water diamond exploration.

‘With unrivalled sample quality and a fuel consumption 30% lower than expected, the SS Nujoma has been a success story for us from the start. We are really pleased with the vessel and the great partnership we have with Kleven and Marin Teknikk, and the realization of a mining vessel is the natural next step for us,’ said Mike Curtis, Head of Projects in De Beers Marine.