helideck landing.
Early next year the ship will undertake ice trials in the Arctic, and in November 2021 make its maiden voyage to Antarctica.
Major milestone
The commencement of sea trials is a major milestone in the four-year build programme, and an exceptional achievement for Cammell Laird:
laying the keel in October 2016
hull launch in July 2018
royal ceremonial naming in September 2019.
Constructing this extraordinary 15,000 tonne-vessel has involved:
more than 1,300 local personnel
70 apprentices
many hundreds of specialist subcontractors and suppliers.
David McGinley, Chief Executive Officer of Cammell Laird Shiprepairers and Shipbuilders and Atlantic and Peninsula Services, said:
In conjunction with NERC and BAS, Cammell Laird has demonstrated that the UK is at the forefront of the global shipbuilding industry and we stand ready to deliver future shipbuilding projects here on the River Mersey.
The UK Geoenergy Observatory in Glasgow, the first of two new underground laboratories that will give scientists an unprecedented look at the sub-surface had its virtual opening Monday, December 7. The team behind the facility says it will contribute to the UK’s ambition to decarbonize its energy supply and achieve net zero by 2050. The site of the UK Geoenergy Observatories - Glasgow Observatory. Photo courtesy of BAM Nuttall
The Glasgow Observatory comprises 12 boreholes, which are 16-199m deep and fitted with 319 state-of-the-art sensors.
Data from the Glasgow Observatory will help scientists understand the subsurface better, and how heat using warm water from abandoned mines could be used as a renewable energy source for homes and industry.