3C Metal Belmet South Africa has been commissioned by De Beers Marine to fabricate the main frame structural steelwork for two next-generation crawlers for Debmarine Namibia’s newest diamond recovery vessel, the MV Benguela Gem.
The scope of work includes the steelwork fabrication of the crawler’s track and main frames, which will be delivered to the De Beers Marine Mining Systems Workshop, where the full final assembly of the crawlers will be done by De Beers Marine.
The work involves about 200 tons of fabrication, intricate structural assemblies and mechanical components, shop detailing, heat treatment, machining and assembly at the Cinco workshop in Cape Town Harbour, South Africa.
For the fabrication phase, the team is using Easy-Laser’s advanced measurement and alignment technology in conjunction with line boring machinery to obtain tolerances of less than 0.05mm over a length of 5 meters.
The team is assisting De Beers Marine in developing machining and measurement techniques for complex machining requirements.
The work requires machining of 34 complex assemblies, ranging from half a ton to 58 tons and assembly before delivery. The team will conduct a trial fit of the crawler main frames and track frames, which involves three machined assemblies collectively weighing more than 100 tons.
3C Metal Belmet says it is very pleased to be once again carrying out important work for the MV Benguela Gem, having previously delivered major scopes for the construction of the vessel, such as the general treatment plant facility and crawlers.
The MV Benguela Gem was launched in March 2022 and is operated by Debmarine Namibia, a joint venture between De Beers Group and the government of the Republic of Namibia.
The MV Benguela Gem produces around 1.4 million carats of marine diamonds annually, bringing in a revenue of more than $669.5 million every year.
3C Metal Belmet is a multinational company focused on delivering turnkey engineering, procurement, construction and installation services to heavy industries, including the oil and gas, petrochemical, renewable energy, power generation, marine and mining industries.
It specialises in structural steel and piping fabrication, with a core speciality of high-pressure (HP) piping processes and techniques.
