The future of the Northern Ireland-based shipbuilder, Harland and Wolff, which famously built the Titanic, appears to have been safeguarded after the Spanish state-owned business Navantia stepped in to buy it on Thursday.
The purchase of the company, which was placed into a type of bankruptcy in September for the second time in five years. is subject to regulatory approval.
If approved, the deal will secure 1,000 jobs at Harland and Wolff’s four shipyards, including at the iconic one in Belfast, Northern Ireland. Two of the others are in Scotland, while the fourth is in England.
The deal is important for the Royal Navy as Harland and Wolff is a subcontractor in part of a consortium that landed a major contract to build new ships. Navantia’s UK division is the main contractor on that contract.
According to Navantia’s statement, the contract ‘is valued at around 2 billion euros and alone represents a total of 1,600 jobs (direct and indirect) in Spain, thanks to the participation of the Puerto Real shipyard in Cádiz, together with the Harland & Wolff facilities in Belfast (Northern Ireland) and Appledore (England). This is the largest export contract in Navantia’s history’.
‘This deal is a major vote of confidence in the UK from Navantia, which will not only secure the future of UK shipbuilding, but protect 1,000 jobs across the country and bring future investment into shipbuilding right across the UK,’ the British Business and Trade Secretary Jonathan Reynolds said.
He wouldn’t be drawn on how much extra taxpayers’ cash would be spent on the contract for Royal Navy support vessels to get a deal to help Harland and Wolff over the line.
However, Reynolds said that the change to the deal was ‘relatively minor given the size of that contract, which is obviously a very important one for national security’.
@Navantia_UK negocia la compra de Harland & Wolff @HarlandWolffplc y asegura el cumplimiento del programa FSShttps://t.co/f3Si6eWXCC
— Navantia (@NavantiaOficial) December 19, 2024
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