MV Mafuta – Mining Ship MV Peace in Africa – Ocean’s Diamond Hunter
The MV Peace in Africa is a very special ship that works not to carry cargo or passengers but to mine diamonds from the ocean floor. It was one of the world’s first large ships designed for offshore diamond mining and is a symbol of both innovation and Africa’s rich natural resources. Today, the vessel is still active, but it sails under a different name, MV Mafuta, and continues its work off the coast of southern Africa.
This is the story of how the ship was built, changed, and renamed, and what role it plays in Africa’s diamond industry today.
History and Origin
The ship that later became known as Peace in Africa did not start its life as a mining vessel. It was built in 1983 in the Netherlands by the Verolme Shipyard Heusden. Back then, it was called the Dock Express 20. Its original job was to carry very heavy cargo and to act as a semi-submersible transport ship. That means it could partially sink to allow big equipment or other ships to be loaded onto it.
In 1993, it was turned into a cable-laying ship, used to place communication cables under the sea. For many years, it served in that role. Then, in the mid-2000s, the famous diamond company De Beers Group bought the vessel through its marine mining arm.
De Beers wanted to create a new kind of ship, one that could mine diamonds directly from the seabed. So, in 2005, they started converting Dock Express 20 into a diamond-mining vessel. After this massive transformation, the ship was given a new name: MV Peace in Africa.
A Ship Designed to Mine the Ocean
The conversion of the ship was a major engineering project. Almost everything inside was rebuilt. Instead of large cargo holds, the new vessel had to house a complete mining and processing plant.
The ship was fitted with a giant underwater crawler, a machine that moves along the seabed using tracks, like a small tank. The crawler digs up the seabed gravel and sucks it up through a huge flexible hose, about 65 centimeters wide. This hose connects the crawler to the ship. The mixture of sand, gravel, and water is pumped up to the surface at an incredible rate of 10,000 cubic meters per hour, equal to 250 tons of seabed material per hour.
Once on board, the gravel is processed in a special diamond recovery plant. This system washes, separates, and sorts the material, keeping only the valuable stones. In ideal conditions, the ship could recover around 60 diamonds per hour, or about 240,000 carats every year.
This technology allowed De Beers to mine diamonds from the seabed up to 150 meters deep, far beyond the reach of normal divers.
Where the Ship Worked
The MV Peace in Africa began its diamond-mining life off the coast of Namibia, in an area known as Atlantic 1, one of De Beers’ offshore mining licenses. Later, it moved further south to the South African coast, near a small town called Kleinzee, in the Northern Cape Province. This area, known as the ML3 license area, stretches about 17 to 32 kilometers out to sea.
By 2007, the ship was fully operational off South Africa. It was expected to work for nearly 19 years, making it one of the most important marine mining vessels in Africa.
A Star in the Media
The ship’s unusual mission and advanced technology caught the attention of filmmakers and the public. In 2009, the MV Peace in Africa was featured in the documentary TV series Mighty Ships. The episode showed how the crew lived and worked on board and explained how they managed to pull diamonds from the ocean floor.
This documentary helped people around the world understand how high-tech diamond mining at sea had become.
Technical Details
The ship is very large, measuring 169.5 meters long and 24.2 meters wide, with a weight of around 15,854 gross tons. It has living quarters for the crew, workshops, control rooms, and the full processing plant on board.
The underwater crawler is the heart of the operation. It can move slowly along the seabed, guided by operators on the ship using cameras and sensors. The material it collects travels up through the suction pipe to the processing plant. There, the mixture passes through sieves and separation units that use density and X-ray systems to detect and collect the diamonds.
Operations continue day and night, with teams working in shifts. The ship must keep running constantly to make mining economically viable because stopping the machines can be very expensive.
Changing Its Name to MV Mafuta
In 2013, after several years of successful operation, De Beers decided to rename the ship again. The MV Peace in Africa officially became the MV Mafuta. The name Mafuta means “fat” or “wealthy” in some African languages, symbolizing abundance and prosperity.
The ship remained under the ownership of Debmarine Namibia, which is a joint venture between De Beers Group and the Government of Namibia. This partnership runs all of Namibia’s offshore diamond-mining ships and plays a big role in the country’s economy.
Where It Is Today
As of 2025, the MV Mafuta is still active. According to the latest vessel-tracking data (AIS), it sails under the Namibian flag and operates mainly in southern African waters, especially near Namibia and South Africa. Its exact IMO number is 8125064, and it continues to be listed as a diamond-mining vessel.
The ship’s most recent position was reported in South African waters, only a few hours before this article was written. Its status is shown as “restricted in ability to maneuver,” which usually means it is working, in this case, probably engaged in seabed mining or maintenance.
This proves that the ship remains in service two decades after its conversion, continuing to recover diamonds from the Atlantic seabed.
Why Offshore Diamond Mining Matters
The MV Peace in Africa, now known as the MV Mafuta, represents a big change in how diamonds are found and mined. Traditionally, diamonds were dug from the ground in open-pit or underground mines. But over time, many of the richest land deposits were exhausted. Scientists discovered that the rivers that once carried diamonds from the mountains to the ocean had deposited them along the continental shelf, buried under layers of sand and gravel.
These diamonds are just as valuable as land diamonds, but they are much harder to reach. Offshore mining offers a new way to access them. The technology used by ships like Peace in Africa allows companies to reach deep under the sea floor and recover stones that have been untouched for millions of years.
This helps maintain diamond production for countries like Namibia and South Africa, both of which rely heavily on diamond exports for national income.
Economic and Environmental Aspects
From an economic point of view, Peace in Africa brought jobs, taxes, and technological skills to southern Africa. The ship created high-tech employment opportunities, from engineers and geologists to data operators and marine technicians.
However, mining in the ocean also raises environmental questions. The underwater crawler disturbs the seabed, creating sediment plumes and affecting small marine organisms. Because of this, offshore mining is closely monitored by environmental authorities in Namibia and South Africa.
Debmarine Namibia follows strict regulations to limit damage. The disturbed areas are carefully mapped, and monitoring is done to see how quickly marine life returns. The company also invests in sustainability programs to balance economic gain with environmental care.
Engineering Achievements
From a technical point of view, the MV Peace in Africa is a masterpiece of engineering. It successfully combines three fields: shipbuilding, mining, and marine science.
The idea of turning a 1980s heavy-lift ship into a 21st-century diamond miner was bold. Engineers had to design systems that could handle huge amounts of sediment, withstand strong ocean currents, and still be safe and reliable for long missions at sea.
The success of this project showed the world that deep-sea mining could be done safely and profitably, at least for high-value minerals like diamonds. It also inspired other ships in the Debmarine fleet, such as the newer MV Debmarine Namibia, which launched in 2022 using even more advanced technology.
Symbolism Behind the Name “Peace in Africa”
When De Beers named the ship Peace in Africa, it carried a symbolic meaning. For years, Africa’s diamond industry had been linked with “conflict diamonds”, stones sold to finance wars and violence. The new offshore mining approach represented a more transparent, regulated, and peaceful way to obtain diamonds.
Mining at sea under government licenses, with official records and controlled exports, helped promote the idea of “conflict-free diamonds.” The name Peace in Africa reflected this hope for a better, fairer diamond industry.
Legacy of the Ship
The story of the MV Peace in Africa is one of transformation and endurance. From a heavy-cargo ship to a symbol of African innovation, and now as MV Mafuta, it continues to shape the future of marine mining.
It showed that Africa could not only provide natural resources but also lead in the technology used to extract them. The partnership between De Beers and the Namibian government through Debmarine has become a model for public-private cooperation in resource management.
Today, even as new ships join the fleet, the MV Mafuta remains a legend, a reminder of how far marine engineering has come and how the search for diamonds has moved from deep earth to deep sea.
Conclusion
The MV Peace in Africa, now known as MV Mafuta, is one of the most remarkable ships ever built. It began as a cargo vessel, became a diamond-mining pioneer, and continues to operate off the coast of Africa more than forty years after its construction.
From the calm waters of Namibia to the open Atlantic off South Africa, it still quietly works below the waves, recovering diamonds that formed millions of years ago. Its story is a mix of human creativity, technology, and the endless search for value in nature.
In many ways, the MV Mafuta is more than a ship, it is a floating factory, a piece of engineering history, and a symbol of Africa’s ability to turn its natural wealth into opportunity
