Back to: LifterLMS Quickstart Course
Introduction to jacking system
A jacking system is a mechanical assembly used to lower and raise an offshore platform, especially jack-up vessels. A jack up rig is a self-elevating platform with a floating hull and long support legs that can be lowered to the seabed. The hull is then jacked up above the sea using the jacking system. The purpose is to elevate the working deck above the waves and tides so the operations can be more stable.
The Scorpion: Birth of the Modern Jack-Up Rig
In the early 1950s, offshore drilling faced a critical limitation — fixed platforms and submersible barges were expensive, hard to relocate, and unstable in open waters. Engineer R. G. LeTourneau, already famous for his heavy machinery, envisioned a mobile, self-elevating structure that could float to site, lower its legs to the seabed, and raise itself above wave level. This concept would soon redefine shallow-water drilling.