Nautilus Minerals Inc. (Nautilus) announces that its production support vessel was today launched at the Mawei shipyard in China. The vessel will be used by Nautilus and its partner, Eda Kopa (Solwara) Limited at the Solwara 1 Project site, in the Bismarck Sea of Papua New Guinea.
Mike Johnston, Nautilus’ CEO commented at the launch, “Today’s launch is a significant milestone for the Company and the deep water seafloor mining industry. Mawei Yard has designed and built the world’s first Deep Sea Mining Production Support Vessel, in cooperation with Nautilus and Marine Assets Corporation. This has involved much discussion, thought and innovation, to produce this magnificent vessel. The Yard’s efforts have been truly amazing, and I would like to thank the Management and team at Mawei Shipbuilding for the terrific work that has been done to get the vessel to this stage of completion.”
He further added, “We believe that mining the seafloor for much needed minerals will be a more cost effective and environmentally friendly source of obtaining high grade copper, gold and silver. Nautilus further differentiates itself from others by having a “first-mover advantage” which is protected by intellectual property and 20 patents. Once our new vessel is delivered, and subject to final funding, mining operations at 1600m water depth is anticipated to commence in late 2019.”
About the vessel
The Production Support Vessel (PSV), which the Company will lease from the owner thereof, provides a stable platform for operations using world-class dynamic positioning technologies to ensure it stays on location at Solwara 1 irrespective of wind and wave conditions. The PSV has been designed for use in offshore construction and seafloor mining industries. The PSV, as launched today, is approximately 75% complete with the final vessel delivery currently scheduled for March 31, 2019.
Source: Nautilus