Romania’s Damen Shipyards Mangalia has officially been recognised as the world’s largest diamond recovery vessel, marking a significant milestone in maritime engineering and deep-sea mining.
The colossal ship known as the Additional Mining Vessel 3 (AMV3) and commercially referred to as the MV Benguela Gem stretches 177 metres (580 ft) long and was delivered to Debmarine Namibia, a joint venture between the De Beers Group and the Government of Namibia. It now holds the record for largest purpose-built diamond recovery vessel in the world, according to the World Record Academy.
Built at a cost of around $470 million, the AMV3 is designed to retrieve diamonds from the seabed off the southwest coast of Namibia using advanced sub-sea crawling extraction technology and on-board processing systems. The vessel’s delivery to sea — marking the end of a multi-year shipbuilding effort at the Black Sea facility in Mangalia — underscores Romania’s growing expertise in complex ship construction and the strategic importance of its shipyard to global marine industries.
Equipped with dynamic positioning (DP2) technology, seven thrusters and powerful generators, the AMV3 is not only the largest but also among the most technologically advanced vessels of its kind, capable of operating efficiently and safely in challenging offshore environments.
Debmarine Namibia expects the AMV3 to remain in service for at least 30 years, significantly enhancing its fleet’s diamond recovery capacity and supporting sustainable mining efforts far beneath the ocean’s surface. The achievement highlights a remarkable blend of engineering prowess, international collaboration and maritime innovation, and marks Mangalia as a hub for world-record-setting ship construction.
