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Displaying items by tag: Fred Olsen Group

The Belfast shipyard at Harland and Wolff could go bust within days as fears mount over its future, it has emerged.

Unions and sources familiar with ongoing negotiations at the shipyard, reports Belfast Telegraph, have said that the company could "go to the wall" next Wednesday, if a buyer cannot be found.

Around 132 people are understood to be still employed at the operation, which was put up for sale by its Norwegian parent company Fred Olsen Energy in December 2018. The group, now known as Dolphin Drilling ASA, filed for bankruptcy last month.

Talks involving political leaders, economic development agency Invest NI and shipyard management have taken place throughout the week.

It's understood that Newry-based MJM Marine had held the status of an exclusive bidder. Jonathan Guest, who replaced Robert Cooper as chief executive of Harland and Wolff in April 2018, is a former managing director of MJM Marine.

During 2018, MJM used Harland and Wolff's dry dock for carrying out a major cruise contract with Royal Caribbean Cruise Ltd.

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Published in Belfast Lough

The Dragon was designed by Johan Anker in 1929 as an entry for a competition run by the Royal Yacht Club of Gothenburg, to find a small keel-boat that could be used for simple weekend cruising among the islands and fjords of the Scandinavian seaboard. The original design had two berths and was ideally suited for cruising in his home waters of Norway. The boat quickly attracted owners and within ten years it had spread all over Europe.

The Dragon's long keel and elegant metre-boat lines remain unchanged, but today Dragons are constructed using the latest technology to make the boat durable and easy to maintain. GRP is the most popular material, but both new and old wooden boats regularly win major competitions while looking as beautiful as any craft afloat. Exotic materials are banned throughout the boat, and strict rules are applied to all areas of construction to avoid sacrificing value for a fractional increase in speed.

The key to the Dragon's enduring appeal lies in the careful development of its rig. Its well-balanced sail plan makes boat handling easy for lightweights, while a controlled process of development has produced one of the most flexible and controllable rigs of any racing boat.