Worklife - Mafuta Day 1 - Waiting patiently for access aboard, rain, assessment begins!

6 months ago

It is always amazing what you find on a new vessel. With the rest of the De Beers fleet, I have have had a chance and a turn to go on most of their vessels at least once, but most of them I have done 2-3 projects on each.

But this was the first time for me to get on the Mafuta and it is a very different look an feel on board the vessel compared to the other smaller vessels or even the Benguela Gem which has now unseated the Mafuta as the largest vessel in the fleet.

We arrived yesterday morning and the ship was alongside. Instead of being in its usual position, it was stationed way back and hulking over our office area.

Usually the ship would be snug in the foreground of this picture but they needed to offload some heavy equipment before going down on the chocks.

Up close and personal the size, age and corrosion of the vessel becomes evident.

This is what makes this vessel feel different to the Benguela Gem. While the Gem looks modern and fit to purpose, the Mafuta - much like some of the smaller members of the fleet has structures and parts on it that seems to have been fitted on afterward over time.

As they perfected the ship's function and came across new needs, they have modified this vessel to make it better at its job and it is that feeling of being built up over time that I can see in the layout of the structures here.

Another thing that comes with age - rust! There is a lot of corrosion on the vessel and it has already happened where rusted beams and bars have collapsed under weight on the vessel.

There are a lot of steep stairs on the vessel. That white stair is part of my route to get to the forward Accomodation. Hopefully they will have access closer to the forward block once the ship goes down on the chocks.