July 30, 2012
Shipbuilding is a highly complex process involving the coordination of thousands of people and parts. Within the process, there are a few key milestones to indicate if a project is on track. Keel-laying is one of these milestones and marks the second step in the construction of a ship. In the first step, steel is cut, heated and bent into shape for the hull and deck sections of a vessel. The cut steel is assembled into smaller blocks and the smaller blocks are assembled into larger sections called keels. The keels are then laid down, fitted together and jointed to form a complete ship. Click here to watch a time lapse video of the laying of the keels for the Investigator, a science research vessel being built by Teekay for Australia’s national science agency, Commonwealth Scientific and Industrial Research Organisation (CSIRO). Once completed, the Investigator will be one of the most sophisticated science research vessels in the world. For more of Teekay’s videos, visit our official YouTube channel and Facebook page.