Diamond hunters arrive in Liberia

The hydrographic survey ship M/V Askelad has arrived in the Freeport of Monrovia. The vessel has spent the last four years in West Africa where it has successfully completed analogue and digital site surveys, cable and pipeline route surveys, burial assessment, swath bathymetry, dredging support surveys, and environmental sampling and support services. Got that? It is now leased to a diamond company, which has joined the many other international diamond hunters who have arrived in Liberia since the UN and the Government of Liberia withdrew diamond export sanctions three months ago. Good luck to them. Each company employs dozens of locals, and their very presence has a positive effect on the economy. Shops are now boasting diamond mining equipment for sale, and local metal workers are selling gold pans on the street. Olly