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Gallery

50 photographs.

Both vessels, photographed bow to engine room. Click any frame to enlarge; arrow keys move through the set.

The M/V Nikola moored bow-on under a clear sky — M/V Nikola at her berth — 112 feet of steel hull, built at Houma, Louisiana.

The name NIKOLA painted in white block letters on a dark grey steel hull — Her name on the bow, freshly painted.

Three-quarter view of the Nikola bow from the pier — Bow three-quarter from the pier, showing the raised forecastle.

The Nikola seen broadside on flat water — Broadside on flat water — the working deck runs nearly her whole length.

The Nikola moored alongside other working vessels — Alongside, among the working fleet.

The Nikola main working deck looking aft — The main deck looking aft — 26 by 54 feet of clear working area, 1,404 square feet.

Deck crane on the Nikola against a blue sky — The deck crane, used to set and shift equipment on station.

Close view of the crane knuckle and hydraulic rams — Knuckle and hydraulic rams at close quarters.

Excavator mounted on the vessel deck — The deck-mounted excavator — the business end of the operation.

Excavator bucket resting on the deck — Bucket at rest between seasons.

Deck gear and rigging aboard the Nikola — Deck gear and rigging, laid out for the run north.

Small tender boat stowed on deck — The tender, stowed on deck.

The Nikola helm station and wheel — The helm.

Interior of the Nikola wheelhouse with instrument console — Wheelhouse — instrument console and chart space.

Wide view of the wheelhouse with windows on three sides — Windows on three sides give the watch a full horizon.

Mast, radar array and antennas above the wheelhouse — Mast, radar and antennas above the house.

Satellite communications dome mounted above deck — Satellite dome — Norton Sound is a long way from a cell tower.

Red electrical switchboard panel in the engine room — Main switchboard.

The galley aboard the Nikola — The galley. A season is long, and the crew eats aboard.

Aerial view of the M/V Stryker moored alongside a timber wharf, blue hull with red boot-topping — M/V Stryker alongside — 112 feet of steel, out of the yard in her new paint.

Full profile from the air: raised model bow, flat working deck, pilothouse forward.

Aerial view of the Stryker bow from off the port side — Off the port bow.

Aerial bow-on view of the Stryker at a dock with a bridge behind — Bow-on at the dock.

The name STRYKER in white block letters on the blue steel bow — Her name on the bow.

Three-quarter view of the Stryker on the hard, blue hull and white deckhouse — Three-quarter on the hard — the double-level superstructure carries two staterooms and ten bunks.

Low angle looking up at the Stryker bow against a cloudy sky — From underneath the flare of the bow.

The Stryker bow at sunset with the sun low behind the hull — Last light on the bow.

The Stryker port side seen from the yard, hoses and equipment on the ground — Port side in the yard, mid-refit.

The Stryker afloat, seen past the cab of a yard crane — Back in the water, seen past the crane that put her there.

The Stryker in drydock, bow head-on, red anti-fouling below the waterline — In drydock — everything below the waterline is only visible a few weeks a decade.

The hull of the Stryker in drydock showing draft marks and fresh red anti-fouling — Fresh anti-fouling and draft marks, blocked up ashore.

The Stryker in drydock viewed from the quarter, hull and bulwarks in red and blue — On the blocks from the quarter.

The Stryker loaded with equipment on her aft deck, inside the breakwater at Nome, Alaska — Loaded out at Nome, deck full, running inside the breakwater.

The Stryker seen from astern with exhaust from her stack, equipment stacked on deck — Stern-on with the stack working, off the Nome breakwater.

The Stryker running on open water off the Nome breakwater under a high overcast sky — Off Nome, standing out past the breakwater. Her transom reads STRYKER — NOME, AK.

Aerial view down onto the Stryker aft working deck with crew aboard — The working deck from above, crew aboard.

Aerial view of the Stryker aft deck and the yard alongside — Aft deck and the yard alongside her.

Looking aft along the Stryker side deck past the deckhouse — Side deck, looking aft.

The United States ensign flying at the Stryker stack — The ensign at the stack. She is a US-flag vessel, documented for coastwise trade.

A main diesel engine in the Stryker engine room, painted green, with insulated exhaust piping — Main engine, engine room.

The bow of the Stryker in her earlier red paint, a small workboat alongside — As surveyed in May 2025, before the refit — the bow still in red.

The Stryker in a Louisiana shipyard in her earlier red and white paint — In the Louisiana yard, in the colours she wore as the Geodetic Surveyor.

The Stryker main deck as surveyed, red bulwarks and equipment stowed aboard — The main deck as surveyed, before the work began.

The Stryker wheelhouse interior with instrument console and chart space — Wheelhouse — console and chart space.

Wide interior view of the Stryker wheelhouse, windows on three sides — Windows on three sides, watch chairs at the console.

Helm station and watch chair in the Stryker wheelhouse — The helm.

A steel screening deck and conveyor on a fabricated frame, excavator boom alongside — The screen deck and conveyor on its frame. Oversize goes one way, pay gravel the other.

A tracked Caterpillar excavator working alongside the recovery plant frame — The excavator that feeds it.

Excavator and feed hopper positioned on a gravel pad — Feed hopper and excavator, set up on the pad.

The recovery plant, excavator and a telehandler on a gravel pad with water behind — Assembly on the pad — plant, excavator and telehandler, water behind.