New figurehead installed from Nationwide Platforms boom.

The world's sixth oldest ship has been fitted with a striking unicorn figurehead put in position from a Genie S45 boom lift supplied by UK rental company Nationwide Platforms.

HMS Unicorn was launched in 1824 and is open to the public in Dundee's Victoria Dock, where it is displayed as the only warship preserved in Scotland.

Nationwide Platforms was asked to install the HMS Unicorn's spare figurehead ahead of it embarking on a journey to take centre stage at the Royal Edinburgh Military Tattoo.

Accessing the ship from the dockside, workers used the full 11.2m outreach of the platform to reach the ship straight over the water. The workers also took advantage of the machine's tilted jib, which allowed them to move with even more precision during the change-over process by specifically controlling the height, angle and movement of the basket they were working from.

Roderick Stewart, operations director from the Unicorn Preservation Society said, "The figurehead of a sailing ship is a very complicated shape and not easily accessible. The platform allowed very flexible access, with the operator able to adjust his position by centimetres as required.

"I'd never used a Nationwide Platforms machine before and was hugely impressed by the overall capability. We were delighted with the company's assistance in this unusual operation."