The historic shipyard of Harland & Wolff recently announced that work has begun to improve the existing fabrication halls at its Belfast facility, home to one of the largest deep-water dockyards in Europe.

The upgrades according to Harland & Wolff Group, will enable the highest quality work to be efficiently carried out during Team Resolute’s Fleet Solid Support (FSS) contract with the Royal Fleet Auxiliary (RFA) as Afloat previously reported. This involves the assembly of three replenishment vessels (following initial construction in Spain) to serve the Royal Navy.

During a recent visit to the shipyard at Queen’s Island, the Leader of the House of Commons, Penny Mordaunt, saw the beginning of the civil works and met apprentices set to work on the new contracts. She welcomed the developments as “brilliant news for the whole of the UK”.

As part of the FSS contract, awarded in January 2023 alongside partners in the Team Resolute consortium (comprising Navantia UK, Harland & Wolff and BMT), Harland & Wolf’s Belfast yard will build three 40,000-tonne vessels which will supply the Royal Navy fleet, and many NATO navies at sea, helping strengthen and safeguard the UK’s national security and maritime defence capability.

Winning the FSS contract unlocked £77m of investment in the company in preparation for constructing the three ships.

The upgrade of the Belfast shipyard – to adopt state-of-the-art shipbuilding techniques – will underpin Harland & Wolff’s capacity to deliver key naval programmes of FSS and beyond. Over the course of the FSS contract, at its peak, Harland & Wolff is expected to employ 1,200 personnel across its Belfast and Appledore shipyards, with an expected additional 800+ across the UK supply chain.

Improvements to Harland & Wolff’s Belfast site are being undertaken by Cleary Contracting, a local building company established in 1983, whom have been awarded a multi-million contract to deliver the infrastructure upgrades over the next 18 months, further supporting communities in Belfast and across Northern Ireland. The company expects to create at least 50 new jobs.

In addition to cutting edge automation and robotic machinery capabilities, the improvements include a 5,000m2 extension to the existing fabrication halls and will facilitate up to 16m2 of automated fabrication panels.

As part of Team Resolute, Harland & Wolff’s continued investment in its Belfast shipyard will secure long-term work for the local community. This investment has enabled Harland & Wolff to commence recruitment of new staff in many roles in all departments and upskilling present colleagues in their existing roles.

The shipyard boss at the Harland & Wolff Group has expressed disappointment after the UK Government scrapped a shipbuilding contract worth £250 million.

The Belfast-based group which owns shipyards in Arnish and Methil in Scotland and Appledore in England, was one of two finalists in the running to land the lucrative contract of the national flagship and aimed to promoting Britain around the world. 

But the massive contract to create a successor to the Royal Yacht Britannia decommissioned in 1997 and now a museum ship in Leith Docks, has been ditched as part of Rishi Sunak’s squeeze on government spending.

As Afloat reported in 2021, the plan for a new royal yacht was championed by the then prime minister Boris Johnson, but was dismissed as a "vanity project" by critics.

On Monday, the UK’s Defence Secretary Ben Wallace told MPs he was prioritising in the procurement of a multi-role ocean surveillance ship (MROSS) instead of the flagship. The newbuild was to be much larger than the 1953 Clydeside built Britannia.  

Harland & Wolff's Chief executive John Wood said the company had planned to use the flagship contract as a launch platform for ‘green shipbuilding’ projects.

For more The Irish News reports on the decision given the challenging public finances. 

Harland & Wolff, the iconic Belfast shipyard with over 160 years of maritime and offshore engineering, has welcomed 13 new apprentices to its flagship site as part of its very first ‘Apprentice Induction Day’.

According to H&W the scheme will run in line and with partnership from Northern Regional College and will see apprentices range from 17 - 28 years old, with a mixture of genders.

The Apprentice Day which was held last Friday, gave the newest recruits a chance to tour the site as well as learn more about the company’s heritage and significance within national and international maritime sectors.

Steven Wright, General Manager at Harland & Wolff (Belfast), who started his career as an H&W apprentice commented: “We are extremely excited to be welcoming our first intake of apprentices to Belfast and to the Harland & Wolff Group. This is a great opportunity to pass on the vast skills, knowledge, and expertise of our current employees to the next generation of marine engineers and shipbuilders.

"As work ramps up throughout the yard and with significant investment towards on-site innovation, it is an incredibly exciting time to join the business. Infamously known as the birthplace of British shipbuilding and maritime excellence, our apprentices will not only gain valuable first-hand industry experience but will be able to continue our proud legacy – all whilst doing so with the backdrop of Samson and Goliath, our iconic gantry cranes.”

Harland & Wolff Apprenticeships are offered across three distinct functions, Trade, (welders, pipefitters, electricians, riggers, fabricators, etc) Technical, (engineers, naval architecture) and Business Support (sales, administration).

Highlights of the unique training programme include practical on-the-job training, one to one mentoring alongside its experienced workforce, shipyard training facilities and the opportunity to earn while you learn.

Harland & Wolff is a multisite fabrication company, operating in the maritime and offshore industry through five markets: commercial, cruise and ferry, defence, oil & gas and renewables and six services: technical services, fabrication and construction, decommissioning, repair and maintenance, in-service support and conversion.

Its Belfast yard is one of Europe’s largest heavy engineering facilities, with deep water access, two of Europe’s largest drydocks, ample quayside and vast fabrication halls.

As a result of the acquisition of Harland & Wolff (Appledore) in August 2020, the company has been able to capitalise on opportunities at both ends of the ship-repair and shipbuilding markets where this will be significant demand.

In February 2021, the company acquired the assets of two Scottish based yards along the east and west coasts. Now known as Harland & Wolff (Methil) and Harland & Wolff (Arnish), these facilities will focus on fabrication work within the renewable, oil and gas and defence sectors.

Harland & Wolff is a wholly-owned subsidiary of InfraStrata plc (AIM: INFA), a London Stock Exchange-listed firm focused on strategic infrastructure projects and physical asset life-cycle management.

In addition to Harland & Wolff, it owns the Islandmagee gas storage project, which is expected to provide 25% of the UK’s natural gas storage capacity and to benefit the Northern Irish economy as a whole when completed.