De Beers recently debuted its new diamond recovery vessel at an inauguration ceremony in Namibia.

The ship, named the “Benguela Gem,” will begin operations this week, ahead of schedule, the company said.

It’s the latest addition to Debmarine Namibia’s fleet, which recovers diamonds from deep within the ocean.

The custom-built vessel cost more than $420 million and will increase Debmarine Namibia’s annual production by 45 percent, adding 500,000 additional carats of high-value diamonds. It will also create 160 jobs for Namibians, De Beers said.

Debmarine Namibia is a subsidiary of Namdeb Holdings and is a 50/50 joint venture between De Beers Group and the Government of the Republic of Namibia.

In 2021, Debmarine Namibia recovered around 1.1 million carats of rough diamonds while Namdeb Holdings’ total production totaled about 1.5 million carats.