The first completed mid-section of the future HMS Queen Elizabeth has embarked on a round-Scotland delivery voyage. The Lower Block 03 module, which stands over 20m high, 60m long and 40m wide, was moved out of the covered ship hall at the Govan yard in Glasgow using 64 remote-controlled transporters. The section, weighing 8,000 tonnes, was loaded onto one of the biggest sea-going barges in the world ready for the 600-mile journey to the assembly dock at Rosyth.
Around 350 Govan-based employees will follow the block to the east coast, where they will work with Babcock to complete the assembly phase of this section of the aircraft carrier.
Construction of Lower Block 04 is also under way at Govan, along with parts of the second vessel. At 11,500 tonnes LB04 is the largest and most complex of the ship’s lower sections. BAE Systems is also manufacturing the forward and lower stern sections of the hull at its Portsmouth facility, along with the ship’s forward island. The LB04 block is due for completion in October.
