Harland & Wolff yards enter administration, Navantia takeover agreed
The yard’s debts will not be passed on to Navantia (Source: H&W)
After a long period of uncertainty over their future, the four shipyards operated by Harland & Wolff -Belfast, Appledore, Methil and Arnish - are being placed into administration as part of the Navantia takeover deal, with the new owner not set to inherit the yard’s various million-pound debts.
The Spanish state-owned shipbuilder entered a long negotiation with the British Government to hash out an agreement which would allow the yards to stay open. Now, administrators will be appointed to the yards.
The development will be “a hammer-blow to… many businesses in the Harland & Wolff supply chain… owed significant sums” in the order of “tens of millions of pounds,” East Belfast MP Gavin Robinson told the BBC.
The four yards together employ around 1,000 workers, with these jobs set to be protected by the agreement with Navantia. The Spanish shipbuilder is set to begin construction on three support ships for the Royal Navy in the coming months.
