The Spanish shipbuilding group Navantia is the new owner of the financially ailing Belfast shipyard Harland & Wolff, which once built the “Titanic”.
The Harland & Wolff shipyard group, which has several sites in the UK, has been struggling to survive for years. The last relaunch was also unsuccessful, and the company is currently burdened by an enormous debt load.
The “white knight” is now apparently the Spanish shipbuilding and armaments group Navantia, which wants to take over all four sites and the 1,200 employees.
Harland & Wolff wins armaments contract
The British government is securing this further new start with a contract worth billions for the Royal Navy. Harland & Wolff is to build three supply ships worth £1.6bn. They are to be built at the shipyards in Belfast and Appledore as well as in Cadiz, Spain.
The traditional British shipyard slipped into insolvency again in September after a loan application for £200m was rejected by the British Export Credit Agency. This was the second time in just five years that the company had been placed in receivership.
