Remedial ESV Guardian construction progress photos

Entrance into shipyard for final outfitting.

Legs are installed, ready to begin final outfitting.

Even in winter, work continues at the shipyard. The three truss legs of the Remedial ESV Guardian can be seen at left-center in the background.

Against the grey winter sky, the completed legs tower above the jack-up vessel's three pedestal cranes.

This photo, taken on a milder day, shows the windows installed in the office block, the 'crossover' section above open deck below.

Many large bolts secure the access hatch for the pump room below.

Large red cables run through the jack tower frames to power jacking motors. In the background, one can see two of the 18 pinion gears that engage the toothed chords on each leg .

Three exhaust vents from the main engines exit the deck on the left, near one of the unit's legs; a cluster of jacking motors is visible on the right.

Viewed from high overhead, the vessel's main pedestal crane and its moveable base structure appear much smaller than they are.

The Remedial ESV Guardian fairly bristles with crane capacity; one of its two 50-ton 'small' cranes is in the foreground.

The vessel is equipped with a large helideck.

Viewed from beneath the main crane's moveable base structure, one gets a sense of the open deck area that will be available for equipment rig-up.

The vessel's thrusters are stored nearby, ready for installation; the bicycle rack in the foreground provides a sense of scale.

This is a high-angle view of the main engine room; the engines and generator sets (on right) are still mostly shrouded .

This is a view of the pump room below deck.

One leg (at left) on the Remedial ESV Guardian is complete in this photo and its temporary work platforms have been dismantled.

The ESV unit dwarfs the tug boat nudging its bow below the helideck.

Viewing the ESV unit from the water helps place its size in perspective. Note the temporary work platforms affixed to the legs at each junction.

The view of the Yantai harbor from atop the ESV unit's legs is spectacular.

Cranes and slings hold each leg section in position until it is secured

Temporary work platforms allow welding and heat-treating (for the legs and jetting system pipes) to take place.

Here the vessel receives the first of its remaining leg sections (entering the frame from the top) as the shipyard begins the final leg installation process.

Viewed from below a short time later, one can see the leg as it extends skward toward its final height.

The man in white coveralls is one of the ABS inspectors who verify each critical step in the construction process. ABS is the classification society which will certify the vessel after sea trials.

All three vessel legs are visible here; two on the left (visually overlapped) and one on the right, shortly before it receives its next section.

The main crane boom (center below) has been installed and is being prepped to receive its wire rope.

Inside the vessel, workers are finishing insulation (thermal & acoustic), wiring, ducting and plumbing for the accommodations block.

Floating quayside (after the barge was submerged following its launch), the Remedial ESV Guardian stands ready to receive its thrusters, its main crane and the remainder of its 425-foot legs.

The Remedial ESV Guardian was launched onto a barge at the Yantai Raffles Shipyard as the next step toward allowing systems commissioning and equipment installation to be completed.

Viewed from the bow as it is winched toward the water, the vessel's large helideck (built to CAP 437 criteria) casts an equally large shadow.

Viewed from the stern, cables and blocks attached to the bottom of the hull to move the vessel onto a quayside barge can be seen (if one looks closely).

Shade is scarce on the day of the ceremony as Yantai Raffles Shipyard personnel prepare for the official launch of the Remedial ESV Guardian.

Scaffolding has been taken down and the hull looms overhead as YRS shipyard workers prepare the vessel for launch.

The tubular structure is an anchor rack being mounted to the ESV hull.

The top of the elevated base for the main pedestal crane is turned upside-down so its leg structure can be attached.

Viewed from overhead, shipyard workers (in blue coveralls) are dwarfed by the upside-down base for the ESV unit's main pedestal crane, shown here with one of its leg assemblies being lowered into position.

A virtual 'forest' of truss leg sections is growing nearby.

This triangular jack frame connects three jack cases, where the jacking motors engage one of the vessel's triangular truss legs.

Here is one of the vessel's jack case foundations; it will house six of the 18 jacking motors for one of the vessel's three legs.

Large, open deck area is a key feature of the ESV design. The yellow-topped columns will support the units two smaller (50MT capacity) cranes.

The main deck, viewed along one of the skid rails for the main crane base.

The bow of the Remedial ESV Guardian wrapped in scaffolding.

This 3/4 view from the bow shows the vessel still covered in scaffolding.

Viewed from the bow, one can see both pedestals for the ESV unit's smaller cranes (yellow-topped columns) rising on either side of the deck. The last transom block is in place and the vessel hull is essentially complete.

The foundation for the accommodations blocks takes shape as the last stage of major structural work gets underway.

An overhead view from high above Yantai Raffles shipyard shows the ESV hull from the stern. The main engine and pump rooms (center) have not yet been enclosed. The gap (left) is for the last hull block which remains to be placed.

This view looks into one of the piping tunnels that run inside the ESV™ hull (and, yes, those are human beings silhouetted in the background, below the tunnel, providing a sense of scale).

Nozzles for the high-rate jetting system can be seen in a circle (alternating orientation) on the underside of a spud can. The ability to jet its legs free from subsea soils is one way an ESV™ unit differs from smaller lift-boat designs.

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