Norwegian shipbuilding company Kleven has entered a memorandum of understanding (MoU) with Namibia-based offshore diamond mining organisation De Beers Marine Namibia for the construction of a purpose-designed offshore mining vessel.
The vessel has been designed by Norway-based design company Marin Teknikk and is set to be built at Kleven’s yard in Ulsteinvik.
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The 176m-long vessel will be deployed to support De Beers Marine Namibia’s seabed mining operations upon completion.
Kleven CEO Ståle Rasmussen said: “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.”
Kleven previously delivered a vessel named SS Nujoma to De Beers Marine Namibia in June last year.
The ship is currently the world’s largest deepwater diamond exploration vessel.
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By GlobalDataDe Beers Marine Projects head Mike Curtis said: “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.”
Kleven also signed a deal with global luxury yacht designer and builder Lürssen last week for the delivery of a 100m-long explorer vessel for an undisclosed customer.
The vessels will be built, partly outfitted and technically finalised at Kleven’s Verft-based yard, which is located in Norway.
It will then undergo a full outfitting programme at Lürssen’s Blohm+Voss facility in Hamburg, Germany.
