Shipyards

Ferguson Marine, the last commercial shipyard on the Clyde, at Port Glasgow, says it expects to cut up to 70 employees. The facility, Afloat highlights, has become synonymous with the ongoing CalMac ferry fiasco since 2018, the year twin newbuilds were to enter service, but they became massively over-budget and delayed. Second ship, Glen Rosa, remains to be completed; however, the shipyard has confirmed that the consultation process will not impact the delivery, to join lead ship Glen Sannox on the Isle of Arran route across the Firth of Clyde.

Scottish Shipyard Ferguson Marine to Axe Nearly Quarter of Its Clydeside Workforce

20th August 2026 Shipyards

The Scottish Government-owned shipyard, Ferguson Marine, located on the Clyde at Port Glasgow, has announced plans to cut nearly a quarter of its workforce. Workers at the nationalised shipyard in late 2019 have been invited to apply for voluntary redundancies,…

Belfast Icons: The Samson and Goliath gantry cranes symbolise the engineering and maritime heritage of Harland & Wolff shipyard, which, after two decades, are to return to service for constructing naval newbuilds.

Belfast's 'Samson & Goliath' Return to Service as Navantia UK's (H&W) Re-Enters Naval Market

12th August 2026 Shipyards

Belfast Harbour’s iconic yellow gantry shipyard cranes, Samson and Goliath, are returning to regular service for the first time in over two decades at the Queen's Island site, according to a report from Yahoo Finance. As IndexBox writes, the cranes,…

Navantia UK’s new deck cargo pontoon, NUK Seahorse is to transport modular blocks for three Fleet Solid Support (FSS) ships, from their Appledore shipyard, England to Harland & Wolff, Belfast where final assembly is to take place. The pontoon is for unmanned towing operation, principally the carriage of FSS modules between fabrication facilities, but also for unrestricted navigation, deep sea tows carrying and a variety of deck cargoes. The Appledore yard, under other owners, built all six ships of the Irish Naval Service P50 and P60 OPVs.

Navantia UK Launch New Barge to Transport Modular Blocks for RFA (FSS) Programme

11th August 2026 Shipyards

A new transport barge, built by Navanita UK's one of two facilities in Scotland, will carry shipyard-built blocks between Appledore, England, and Belfast, supporting the delivery of the Royal Fleet Auxiliary's Fleet Solid Support (FSS) ships, writes Jehan Ashmore. The…

Ongoing recruitment drive, so far 160 new colleagues have joined Navantia UK this year, across the shipyards and facilities of Appledore, Arnish, Belfast, Methil and in addition to Bristol and London offices. Teams are working on a major naval contract for the UK’s Royal Fleet Auxiliary, ship repair, commercial exports, offshore energy fabrication, backed by £157m plus investment.

Navantia UK Launches Recruitment Drive for Roles at Shipyard Harland & Wolff

8th August 2026 Jobs

Navantia UK has launched a recruitment drive for its largest shipyard, Harland & Wolff, Belfast Harbour, as it continues to expand the workforce delivering major naval shipbuilding programmes. The company is recruiting 28 skilled workers in total. This will involve 21…

The passenger ferry Scillonian IV has successfully completed sea trials in the South China Sea, having been built by the same shipyard as the already in-service freight vessel Menawethan.

Newbuild Ferry Scillonian IV Completes Sea Trials off Vietnam

21st July 2026 Shipyards

A new ferry built in a shipyard in Vietnam for the Isles of Scilly Steamship Group’s passenger service, Scillonian IV, has carried out trials, writes Jehan Ashmore The group's long-running ferry, Scillonian III, a veteran dating to 1977, operating its final…

A major contract for the Belfast shipyard for the UK and Dutch navies is for four amphibious vessels, each of 160m long and 15,000 tonnes. They will transport troops, vehicles and equipment, including drones.

Harland & Wolff Pitching for UK-Dutch Navy Transport Ships - Part of Huge £2.4bn Deal

10th July 2026 Shipyards

Shipyard Harland & Wolff, Belfast, is pitching to build a major fleet of transport ships for the navies of the UK and the Netherlands as part of a huge £2.4bn deal. The Queen’s Island-based yard’s owner, Navantia UK, says Harland…

The Ice-class 1A vessels will be built at the shipyard in China based on a design by Groot Ship Design and incorporating a predominantly European makers list. Delivery of the first 8 units is scheduled between the third quarter of 2027 and early 2029, with two optional units mid-2029.

Carisbrooke & Royal Wagenborg Partnership Leads Up to 10 Newbuilds

8th July 2026 Shipyards

A series of 7,000 dwt newbuilds currently on order at Dajin Shipyard, China, follows a partnership between shipowners Carrisbrooke Shipping of the Isle of Wight and Dutch operator Royal Wagenborg. Under the agreement, the Cowes-based shipping company Carisbrooke will remain…

The newest Carisbrooke newbuild carries a special story, as the vessel is named after Heleen Wester, just as the same series ship, Greta C, was named after Greta. Both women are the partners of Carisbrooke Shipping's founding members, making this series a tribute to the families behind both companies.

Third 'Labrax' Newbuild Launched for Carisbrooke of Cowes

29th June 2026 Shipyards

At a Dutch shipyard a newbuild was launched for Carisbrooke Shipping of Cowes, Isle of Wight. The Royal T Shipyards at their Harlingen yard is where the MV Heleen C, a 7,720 dwt general cargo vessel, took to the waters…

The newbuilds Loch Indaal, Lochmor, and Claymore (above) will join CalMac’s fleet when ready for service. MV Claymore was launched in May by Mary Morrison (former Port Manager at Lochmaddy) at the Cemre Shipyard in Yalova, Turkey.

CMAL Takes Formal Ownership of Three Turkey Built Ferries

28th June 2026 Shipyards

At a shipyard in Turkey, infrastructure body Caledonian Maritime Assets Limited (CMAL) has taken formal ownership of three ferries being built. They are to serve CalMac routes on Scotland’s west coast—despite them not yet being completed. The three ferries are…

New owner: Facilities in Birkenhead, Falmouth and Tynemouth will be modernised and capacity will be expanded across all English shipyard sites. Above: the Balaena team took to Cornwall to celebrate the acquisition of the former A&P Falmouth facility.

APCL Shipyards Acquired by Balaena Among them Cammell Laird on Merseyside

24th June 2026 Shipyards

Balaena, a UK maritime engineering and shipbuilding group, has acquired the APCL Group, which operates four shipyards. They comprise Cammell Laird at Birkenhead, A&P Tyne, A&P Falmouth, and Falmouth Docks and Engineering Company—in England. Commenting on the acquisition, Simon Gillett,…

The new Cross River ferry to be built at Cobh (Rushbrooke) at the former Verolme Cork Dockyard (V.C.D.) site in the background, will be a significant development, as Afloat highlights the last ship to be built in the Republic took place at V.C.D. with the Irish Naval Service flagship L.E. Eithne in 1984. As for the last ferry built at V.C.D., it was the much larger Leinster for former state-owned operator B+I Line when completed in 1981.

New €4 Million Ferry for Cork's Cross River Service to Be Built Near Cobh

19th May 2026 Shipyards

The vital ferry link for Cobh and Passage West, located in lower Cork Harbour, where thousands of people use the cross-river service, can look forward to a brand-new experience from next year, reports CorkBeo As a new custom-built hybrid ferry…

What a Performance, as the Irish Sea freight ferry at Navantia UK, Harland & Wolff, Belfast, has been repainted in full CLdN colours, with a newly applied grey hull replacing the blue of former owner Seatruck.

First 'Heysham-Max' Freight Ferry to Emerge in Full CLdN Livery

10th April 2026 Shipyards

Navantia UK’s Harland & Wolff, Belfast, shipyard has recently completed the dry-docking of CLdN’s Irish Sea ro-ro freight ferry Performance for its scheduled 15-year survey, writes Jehan Ashmore. This took place at the facility’s Belfast Dry Dock, where a programme…

Archive Access — Archivist Siobhan McLaughlin presents historic Harland & Wolff ship plans to visitors, showcasing newly accessible drawings including Titanic designs at the Ulster Folk Museum.

Harland & Wolff Ship Plans Archive Opens To Public

2nd April 2026 Shipyards

National Museums Northern Ireland has opened the Harland & Wolff ship plans archive to the public for the first time. The collection is now housed at the Cultra Collections Store at the Ulster Folk Museum. The archive contains hundreds of…

Breaking ranks: Harland & Wolff’s Belfast yard removed from EU-approved ship recycling list, leaving Ireland without a certified facility under strict EU environmental and safety rules

Harland & Wolff Removed From EU List of Approved Ship Recycling Yards

17th March 2026 Shipyards

The EU has removed Belfast shipyard Harland & Wolff from its list of approved ship recycling facilities. As The Currency reports, high environmental and safety standards are set by the EU in relation to yards approved for dismantling and recycling…

The Ferguson Marine shipyard on the Clyde is to expand its apprenticeship programme

Scottish Shipyard to Expand Apprentice Programme after Contract Announcement

13th March 2026 Shipyards

A Scottish shipyard on the Clyde said it is expanding its apprenticeship program following the announcement that it could build four more vessels. The yard is Ferguson Marine, the government-owned shipyard that was nationalised in 2019. Kate Forbes, the deputy…

The Scottish Government is to bolster shipbuilding on the Clyde for the construction of two passenger ferries for Caledonian MacBrayne (CalMac)’s west coast network. In addition to a pair of vessels for Marine Scotland.

Scottish Government to Award Clyde Shipyard with Four-Ship Contract

6th March 2026 Shipyards

The Scottish government intends to award a Clyde shipyard with contracts to build four vessels. This will directly provide a five-year pipeline of work for Ferguson Marine, the Port Glasgow shipyard that was nationalised in 2019. The newbuild package includes…