Harland and Wolff: Anger as key work on new £1.6bn Royal Navy supply vessels goes to Spain's shipbuilder Navantia

The company has been selected to build three Fleet Solid Support warships. Work will be carried out across sites in Belfast, Devon, Scotland and Spain. The contract will create 1,200 Harland & Wolff shipyard jobs and 800 indirect jobs of which it is reported 900 jobs in total could come to Belfast.

It will also deliver 200 further education opportunities or graduate placements and apprentice programmes, as well as supporting thousands more supply chain jobs. The company’s academy is also set to train 300 new UK welders during the contract.

But, while the final assembly of the ships will take place at the company’s Belfast yard, unions expressed concern that most of the high-value work as well as the intellectual property will go to the Spanish state-owned shipbuilder, Navantia.

The Spanish company’s UK subsidiary will act as the prime contractor in the Team Resolute consortium, with Bath-based BMT carrying out the design work.

Mike Clancy, general secretary of the Prospect union, said: “Spain will be delighted with the Government’s approach to levelling up. It is now essential that the Government does all it can to maximise the small amount of work going to UK yards.”

However the MoD said the agreement will enable the transfer of Navantia’s cutting edge digital shipyard knowledge from its Cadiz yard to Harland & Wolff, supporting the modernisation of its Belfast yard.

Sources close to the deal told the PA News Agency there was a commitment to at least 60% of the work being carried out in the UK with majority of the blocks and modules for the ships being constructed in Belfast and at Harland & Wolff’s facility in Appledore in Devon. Components will be manufactured at the company’s centres in Methil in Fife and Arnish on the Isle of Lewis.

However despite the row, NI politicians were delighted with the news, which will bring vital investment and jobs to NI's shipbuilding industry.

East Belfast DUP MP, Gavin Robinson, said: “This is fantastic news for Belfast and Northern Ireland as a whole, but primarily for Harland & Wolff and everyone associated with the company. Harland & Wolff’s Belfast operation will be heavily involved throughout the process through both construction and final assembly stages."

UUP Finance Spokesperson, Steve Aiken, said: “The awarding of a £1.6bn contract to build three support ships for the Royal Navy to a consortium led by Harland & Wolff is indeed great news which will be welcomed by all. This contract will result in the resumption of ship-building at Harland and Wolff and is a huge vote of confidence in our maritime industries."

Alliance East Belfast MLA Peter McReynolds, meanwhile, said it was “absolutely fantastic news for Harland and Wolff and the local community” noting that the last ship to be built in Belfast was the Anvil Point in 2003.

And TUV east Belfast spokesperson John Ross said it was a reminder that Harland & Wolff “not only have an iconic place in industrial history but are still making a major contribution to shipbuilding in the 21st century”.

Team Resolute, comprising Harland & Wolff, BMT and Navantia UK, is pledging to invest £77 million in Harland & Wolff’s shipyard infrastructure.

The three vessels, which will provide supplies to Royal Navy vessels at sea, will be built subject to HM Treasury and Ministerial approval. Each 216m long vessel will be the length of two Premier League football pitches. Production is due to start in 2025 and finish in 2032.