Babcock International have been constructing the UK’s largest ever Warships for the Royal Navy in Rosyth Docks, Scotland.

The QE Class carriers weigh over 70,000 tonnes and during their construction (a Joint venture between Babcock and the Ministry of Defence), the various segments of the carriers needed to be moved along the dry dock.

A special skidding system was designed for the Goliath Crane, using Hi-Force skates to allow the usually horizontal crane to traverse laterally as well to account for the sheer size and weight of the carrier segments.

The specialist skates were produced and delivered in a record time of 17 working days instead of the 6 weeks initially quoted allowing the £multi-billion project to continue on schedule.

The specially engineered skates incorporated lateral and vertical loading, guidance and uplift tolerances as well as corrosion protection to account for the sea-water environment.