Milestone on world’s newest and largest offshore diamond recovery vessel
Alewijnse is nearing a milestone in the electrical fit-out of what will be the world’s newest and largest offshore diamond recovery vessel ever built (the AMV3).
Alewijnse switched on the shore power, marking the start of the commissioning phase.
Alewijnse is responsible for the complete electrical installation on board this new vessel for De Beers Marine Namibia (Pty) Ltd, working with the Damen Shipyards Group at Damen Shipyard Mangalia on Romania’s Black Sea coastline. The yard is the group’s flagship facility for its largest and most complex projects including big offshore vessels and offshore structures.
The AMV3 is an exceptionally complex vessel and the build involves partners from the mining industry as well as the maritime sector. The vessel will be the most advanced vessel of its type ever constructed and the seventh member of the De Marine Namibia fleet. It will be used for diamond recovery off the coast of Namibia from 2022 onwards. The AMV3 is expected to increase the ship owner’s annual production by 35%, thus making a substantial additional contribution to today’s production levels. Delivery of the vessel is scheduled for the summer of 2021.
Well-respected partner
Christiaan Meijer, Package Manager E&I for Damen Shipyards Mangalia, commented on the excellent cooperation with Alewijnse: “Because of the COVID-19 pandemic, we had a tough start in 2020. It was not easy to clear areas for cable pulling, having multiple disciplines on board at that stage, all working very hard to build the ship. But Alewijnse was always aware of what could be done and what could not, and this gave me a lot of confidence as their site team always had a very pro-active attitude.
“During this phase, I also realized that Alewijnse was more than just a subcontractor, this project team was a well-respected partner of the Damen AMV3 project! Honest conversations about progress and how to proceed with this challenging project is what led to an amazing start to 2021. Almost 400 km of cables have been pulled and connected from the beginning of the year; of a total of 490 km. This has allowed Damen to start commissioning at an early stage of the project, aiding us in our goal to meet our challenging delivery date. The partnership between Damen and Alewijnse has been a success on this project to date and I am confident that if we continue on the same basis we will overcome the challenges ahead of us and deliver a state-of-the-art vessel later this year.”
A large and complex project
Alewijnse project manager Cătălin Androne is leading the Alewijnse team. “We managed the tight planning on the project by appointing sufficient coordination resources along with adequate installation and steelwork resources. We currently have 90 personnel working on this project, however the peak was with 325 FTEs.’
“Our support departments have also contributed notably to the progress of the project, recognizing that delivery and the timing of materials are essential given the urgency on site. The dedicated team back at Alewijnse helped surmount the fact that we are building a project in the middle of a world pandemic, with numerous restrictions and limitations, in a new shipyard, with a new way of working.”
Fascinating work on a prototype vessel
“Working on a prototype vessel is always fascinating,” concludes Daniel Mihai, the Alewijnse main ship coordinator on the diamond recovery vessel. “You get to combine the knowledge and experience acquired on previous projects with new and advanced concepts that we may not have encountered before. Being among the first to see and work with these concepts gives us tremendous professional satisfaction as well as important learning opportunities.”
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