The formal acquisition of Harland & Wolff’s four UK shipyards is expected to be ratified on Wednesday when senior figures from the Spanish-owned Navantia visit Belfast to meet workers.
Parent company H&W Holdings, burdened by heavy losses and massive interest payments on its debt, had slumped into administration in September.
But core operations, namely its functioning shipyards in Belfast, Appledore (Devon) and at Arnish and Methil in Scotland, were preserved, with a deal subsequently being struck in December with Spain’s state-owned Navantia, which the UK government vowed would protect 1,000 jobs at across those four sites.
However, there remain serious concerns that jobs may be lost in the wider supply chain, with smaller companies fearing they’ll have little prospect of getting their invoices paid,
Indeed Russell Downs, the bankruptcy and restructuring expert brought in as interim executive chair in July, told the Financial Times in December that the sale to Navantia “regrettably” would mean losses for creditors and suppliers.
But it still appears the deal is set to close, and on Wednesday Ricardo Domínguez García-Baquero, who is chairman of Navantia, and the company’s UK chief executive Juan de la Cueva, are understood to have scheduled a visit to the Belfast facility.
According to H&W, their trip “will celebrate a transformative development that strengthens both the UK’s sovereign defence capabilities and its clean energy ambitions”.
As well as securing more than 1,000 skilled jobs across the UK, the acquisition positions the company’s historic facilities at the forefront of maritime engineering and renewable energy manufacturing.
The Belfast facility is expected serve as a cornerstone in delivering the £1.6 billion Fleet Solid Support (FSS) programme with the Royal Fleet Auxiliary, while also supporting the transition to clean energy through Navantia Seanergies’ expertise in offshore wind infrastructure.
That FSS contract, which is also being delivered by Navantia yards, will see the iconic Belfast shipyard build three 40,000-tonne vessels which will supply the Royal Navy fleet, and Nato navies at sea.
The takeover by Navantia has been welcomed by the GMB union, which has been working closely with government and other stakeholders to deliver a buyer for all four H&W yards, with 550 jobs safeguarded in Belfast alone.
Alan Perry, GMB senior organiser in Northern Ireland, said: “Yet again the determination of workers, backed by their union GMB, has secured the long term future of the shipyard.
“It is vital that work starts in the building of the three Fleet support ships as soon as possible.
“We need Navantia to invest in skills, both in the existing workforce and apprenticeships to benefit the wider community.”
