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Harland & Wolff Shipyard Among Finalists At Maritime UK Awards

22nd May 2025
This year’s Maritime UK Awards sets a course for the Port of Dover, which is the UK’s largest and Europe’s busiest ferry port, handling £144 billion of trade, or 33% of the UK’s trade in goods.
This year’s Maritime UK Awards sets a course for the Port of Dover, which is the UK’s largest and Europe’s busiest ferry port, handling £144 billion of trade, or 33% of the UK’s trade in goods. Credit: Navantia UK/H&W-Linkedin

The Harland & Wolff shipyard, owned by Navantia UK, has been named a finalist in two categories at the 2025 Maritime UK Awards, which are to be held next month.

The categories are for the Coastal Powerhouse Award and International Trade Award, and this is a double recognition of H&W’s investment in coastal communities and growing its role in championing British shipbuilding on the global stage.

Besides the iconic Belfast shipyard, the Navantia UK portfolio includes yards in Appledore, England, and Arnish, Methil, in Scotland.

Following last year’s event held in Belfast, Maritime UK is bringing the Maritime UK Awards 2025 to the Port of Dover with its ferry links to Calais and Dunkirk and its cruise ship terminal operations.

The awards provide an opportunity to bring together people from across the UK to celebrate the achievements and success stories of this vital sector.

The Maritime UK Awards will unite over 400 industry colleagues and government partners, showcasing the achievements and progress within the maritime sector.

These awards highlight the industry’s essential role in the UK economy, which contributes £116 billion annually and supports over 1.1 million jobs across shipping, ports, engineering, professional services, and leisure marine.

This year's awards will have a particular focus on the importance of the seafarer and their dedication and commitment, which ensures that all four corners of the UK remain fed, fueled, and supplied.

The event will take place and be hosted by the Port of Dover on Thursday, 26th June, and is sponsored by DFDS, Liverpool John Moores University, and the UK’s busiest ferry port.

Published in Shipyards
Jehan Ashmore

About The Author

Jehan Ashmore

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Jehan Ashmore is a marine correspondent, researcher and photographer, specialising in Irish ports, shipping and the ferry sector serving the UK and directly to mainland Europe. Jehan also occasionally writes a column, 'Maritime' Dalkey for the (Dalkey Community Council Newsletter) in addition to contributing to UK marine periodicals. 

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Shipyards

Afloat will be focusing on news and developments of shipyards with newbuilds taking shape on either slipways and building halls.

The common practice of shipbuilding using modular construction, requires several yards make specific block sections that are towed to a single designated yard and joined together to complete the ship before been launched or floated out.

In addition, outfitting quays is where internal work on electrical and passenger facilities is installed (or upgraded if the ship is already in service). This work may involve newbuilds towed to another specialist yard, before the newbuild is completed as a new ship or of the same class, designed from the shipyard 'in-house' or from a naval architect consultancy. Shipyards also carry out repair and maintenance, overhaul, refit, survey, and conversion, for example, the addition or removal of cabins within a superstructure. All this requires ships to enter graving /dry-docks or floating drydocks, to enable access to the entire vessel out of the water.

Asides from shipbuilding, marine engineering projects such as offshore installations take place and others have diversified in the construction of offshore renewable projects, from wind-turbines and related tower structures. When ships are decommissioned and need to be disposed of, some yards have recycling facilities to segregate materials, though other vessels are run ashore, i.e. 'beached' and broken up there on site. The scrapped metal can be sold and made into other items.