Debmarine Namibia has announced plans to reduce its marine diamond recovery fleet from seven vessels to five, as the company responds to declining global demand for natural diamond jewellery.
The decision follows a 3.5% drop in global demand for natural diamonds in 2024, coupled with rising polished stock levels in the midstream sector, which have placed significant pressure on market performance.
“In response to reduced prices and the ongoing market downturn, the company intends to reduce its seven-fleet marine diamond recovery vessels by two,” said Debmarine Namibia Chief Executive Officer, Willy Mertens told Namibia Mining & Energy.
He explained that the MV Grand Banks, the oldest vessel in the fleet, will be placed on cold lay-up in preparation for decommissioning, while notice has been given on the chartered MV Coral Sea.
“This will reduce the diamond recovery fleet to five from seven. Both these vessels were built in the mid-70s and would have reached their natural end of life in 2028/29,” Mertens stated.
While the decommissioning process is yet to be finalised, Mertens said the company is working to mitigate the potential impact on its workforce.
“The company is pulling out all efforts to minimise the loss of jobs for impacted employees, and efforts are underway to redistribute skills into the rest of the fleet. However, preparations around the lay-up and decommissioning process are still underway and timelines have not been determined yet,” he said.
In an effort to maintain output and improve operational efficiency, Debmarine Namibia has committed over N$1 billion towards the production of two new seabed crawlers for the MV Benguela Gem. These upgrades are expected to enhance recovery speeds by 20% and provide access to new geological deposits.
“To optimise production, the company has invested in the production of two new crawlers for the MV Benguela Gem, at a total investment of just over N$1 billion Namibia Dollars,” Mertens said.
“The crawlers are rotated annually for maintenance, and therefore the second crawler allows production continuity.”
He explained that crawler technology, which mines the seabed horizontally, is currently used on only two vessels in the fleet – the Benguela Gem and the Mafuta – which together account for more than 65% of Debmarine Namibia’s total production.
Mertens further revealed that the company will introduce a new fourth-generation crawler in mid-June 2025.
“Suffice to say, the rate of improvement is anticipated to be in the region of 20%, basically replacing some of the lost capacity of the MV Grand Banks and MV Coral Sea.
Debmarine Namibia currently uses third-generation crawler technology, and the new fourth-generation crawler is scheduled to be launched on the MV Benguela Gem in mid-June 2025, poised to ramp up production when market conditions improve,” he said.
