Navantia UK, as new owner of the sites of the historic brand Harland & Wolff after taking over the Belfast, Appledore, Methil and Arnish yards back in January, has given new impetus to a program of modernisation works to modernize the site ahead of the build of the 3 Fleet Solid Support vessels for the Royal Navy, which is due to begin later this year.
Navantia UK agreed to purchase the sites in December 2024 and subsequently reached a deal with the new UK government that involved unspecified “small” changes to the timeline and cost of the FSS project, a 1.6 billion pounds plan for 3 supply vessels. The shipyards were put into administration as part of the deal so that Navantia was not stuck with the firm's legacy debts, although this led to some supplies facing financial losses instead.
Navantia UK says that its new investment plan “significantly expands” upon the original £78 million plan included in the Fleet Solid Support (FSS) programme contract with the Ministry of Defence, although it’s not yet clear what the exact differences are.
In 2024, the first steel frames for a new 5,000 square metres facility for automated flat steel panel manufacture had been erected but when H&W had entered administration the The civil works associated with this investment had been temporarily paused. Work has resumed in March and the latest photos show the steel structure mostly complete.
The modernisation plan has 3 core intents: maximising productivity, creating skilled jobs, and implementing sustainable manufacturing. Phase one focuses on enhancing capabilities for building vessel hulls, with improvements to delivery systems, stockyard management, and the introduction of Cutting-edge robotics and automation systems. The new assembly facility was meant to generate 16 square-metres flat panels with a great use of automation, and that capability might now be further developed to achieve “full mechanisation”.
Navantia UK says the investment will see the installation of new lifting cranes, robotic plasma cutting systems, and automated quality control processes. The iconic Samson and Goliath gantry cranes that tower over the giant dock will continue to play a vital role in operations, lifting blocks of the future FSS vessels.
The revival of the Belfast site will be achieved through technical knowledge transfer from Navantia’s Spanish operations, and the company says investment will extend to the other sites. It’s worth remembering that the FSS vessels will be built in 3 mega-blocks: the bow block will be built at Appledore, the middle one directly at Belfast, with the stern area built by Navantia in Cadiz, Spain, with final assembly in Belfast. At 216 meters of length and 34.5 in beam, the FSS vessels will most likely be the largest in Royal Navy service after the Queen Elizabeth-class aircraft carriers (the only ship type that might come close is the Multi Role Strike Ship currently in concept phase, destined to replace the amphibious assault shipping).
Harland & Wolff had also hoped that Project EUSTON, under which the Royal Navy intends to procure “at least” 2 floating docks to be installed in Faslane for the maintenance of nuclear submarines, would breathe new life into the Methill shipyard in Scotland, where it proposed to build the docks. Navantia UK will presumably pursue that opportunity. Both of the Scottish sites (Methil and Arnish) will also continue to pursue opportunities in support of offshore operations and green energy as new wind turbines are installed in the North Sea.
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