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Shipyards
The Leader of the House of Commons, Penny Mordaunt, on a recent visit to the Belfast shipyard. Work has begun to improve existing fabrication halls to enable increased efficiency during Team Resolute’s Fleet Solid Support (FSS) £1.6 billion contract from the UK MoD for three replenishment vessels of the Royal Fleet Auxiliary (RFA) to service the Royal Navy.
The historic shipyard of Harland & Wolff recently announced that work has begun to improve the existing fabrication halls at its Belfast facility, home to one of the largest deep-water dockyards in Europe. The upgrades according to Harland & Wolff Group,…
Dry Dock Reopens: Peter Green CEO of National Maritime with Govan Drydock Managing Director, Peter Breslin. The historic category A-listed facility in Glasgow has won a prestigious award. In the background is turbine steamer, TS Queen Mary which is undergoing a major restoration project.
A restoration project of the historic Govan drydock, located in the heart of Glasgow, has been announced as a winner in the Coastal Communities Excellence award. Govan Drydock Limited, scooped the prestigious accolade at the National Maritime SME Awards, which…
Cammell Laird shipbuilders on Merseyside has been awarded contracts by BAE Systems to build units for the UK Royal Navy’s Type 26 /City class frigates.
The Wirral Peninsula on the Irish Sea is where Birkenhead based shipbuilder, Cammell Laird along with North Sea based A&P Tyne have been awarded contracts by BAE Systems to build units for the UK Royal Navy’s Type 26 /City class…
Harland & Wolff Technologies (HWT) today announced at the conclusion of London International Shipping Week (LISW), a new partnership with Echandia, the Swedish energy systems supplier, to develop battery technology, for new vessel types and give H&W exclusive distribution rights for maritime battery sales in the UK, Ireland and Australia. During (LISW’23) Afloat adds the British Ports Association and British Tugowners Association hosted a panel discussion sponsored by H&W, to explore the opportunities and challenges in the building of ‘green’ tugs in the UK.
A subsidiary of shipyard firm the Harland & Wolff Group, has announced today at the London International Shipping Week, a new partnership with Echandia, the Swedish energy systems supplier. The partnership with Harland & Wolff Technologies (HWT) which recently opened…
The owners of the iconic Belfast shipyard, Harland & Wolff Group has published its interim financial report, which recorded a rise in revenues in the first half of 2023, but losses still came in at around £16m.
Shipyard business Harland & Wolff Group Holdings has announced a 65% rise in revenues for the first half of 2023, however the Belfast based owner at Queen’s Island, still registered a loss of almost £16 million in the six month…
The long-delayed CalMac ferry, previously known as hull 802, has been named Glen Rosa after a public vote was launched. According to CMAL, the ferry is to be launched towards the end of 2023 and is scheduled to follow twin, Glen Sannox into passenger service by the end of 2024.
In Scotland the ferry bosses which own Caledonian MacBrayne (CalMac) vessels, have revealed the name of the second delayed newbuild under construction by Ferguson Marine shipyard on the Clyde. The long-delayed ferry which for years has only been known as…
The current Isles of Scilly passenger vessel Scillonian III has served between Penzance Harbour (as above) and Hugh Town, St. Mary’s since 1977. It was built by Appledore Shipbuilders Ltd and Afloat’s adds the north Devon shipyard in recent years was acquired by Harland & Wolff.
Shipbuilder, Harland & Wolff Group Holdings is in the running to build and operate two new ferries to serve the remote Isles of Scilly, 24 nautical miles off Cornwall in south-west England. The shipbuilding group which has facilities on both sides…
UK safety regulator, the Maritime and Coastguard Agency (MCA) has asked Ferguson Marine shipyard to make changes to newbuild ferry twins, (above Glen Sannox) that are to serve CalMac's Clyde route of Ardrossan-Brodick, Isle of Arran.
Twin dual-fuel powered ferries being built at Ferguson Marine shipyard on the Clyde are facing further delays after demands for design changes by the safety regulator. According to the Maritime and Coastguard Agency (MCA) doors will have to be modified…
LISW23: Harland & Wolff  is to be a reception sponsor for the LISW23 Parliamentary Cruise next month in addition to hosting a ‘Green’ tugs event.
The shipbuilder, Harland & Wolff Group, is to be part of this year’s London International Shipping Week (LISW23) as Afloat previously reported is to take place 11-15 September. The London listed H&W is to be a reception sponsor for the…
Heavy-lift ship, MV Sun Rise, the first of its type to be dry-docked at Harland & Wolff, Belfast. Afloat adds the 17,825 gross tonnage vessel is currently in H&W's main dry-dock facility having this week sailed from Dutch port of Rotterdam.
Harland & Wolff Group's Belfast shipyard has been awarded a contract to undertake repairs on a semi-submersible heavy-lift vessel, the MV Sun Shine. The vessel built in 2009, is owned by the South Korean-based Pan Ocean Group and this is…
A new company in Scotland is where Harland & Wolff Technologies will service the UK’s energy capital – Aberdeen, focusing on batteries, future fuels, propulsion and system integration, whilst servicing operational assets in the North Sea.
Shipyard group Harland & Wolff has opened a new company in Scotland which will service the thriving energy sector in the UK’s energy capital, Aberdeen on the North Sea. The new subsidiary company, Harland & Wolff Technologies will focus on…
Work has begun at Harland & Wolff's Group main shipyard in Belfast to prepare for the arrival of a large vessel for fit-out later this year. Above a scene from 2020 when a trio of Viking Cruises vessels were at the shipyard, with the Viking Sun occupying Belfast Dry-Dock while berthed at the fit-out quay were Viking Sea and Viking Sky.
The shipyard firm of Harland & Wolff Group which has its largest facility in Belfast, has landed another significant fit-out, reports The Irish News, with a contract that is worth up to £70 million. The Group, which also has yard's…
Harland & Wolff Group has welcomed the UK Government's Shipbuilding Credit Guarantee Scheme which forms part of the government’s £4 billion plan to support British shipbuilding. Above Afloat highlights the Belfast based group also has smaller newbuild projects such as its first in-house design of a 24m multipurpose 'green' workboat unveiled earlier this year in which the shipyard is marketing the workboat globally.
The Harland & Wolff Group which has shipyards on both sides of Irish Sea has welcomed the UK Government's announcement to launch the Shipbuilding Credit Guarantee Scheme (SCGS). The scheme is designed to help buyers access finance to buy UK-built vessels…
A cruiseship at Harland & Wolff’s Belfast shipyard
Harland & Wolff Group's Belfast shipyard has joined Cruise Britain to enable it to connect and grow a world-class Centre of Excellence for Cruise in Belfast. The Belfast shipyard is designed to expertly handle the world’s largest cruise ships within…
Sliding off the stocks at the shipbuilder of Royal Bodewes is Arklow Rambler, the third Eco-trader of seven newbuilds ordered from the Irish shipowner
Dutch shipbuilder Royal Bodewes has launched an Eco-Trader 6,800 dwat newbuild for Arklow Shipping with the general cargo vessel taking to the water, writes Jehan Ashmore. Arklow Rambler with a length overall (LOA) of 104.93m was launched yesterday into the Winschoterdiep…
Bloomsday launch: Arklow Glen before slip-sliding away off the stocks at the Ferus Smit shipyard in the north-east of the The Netherlands today. The 87m cargoship is the second of five 'G' class newbuilds each of 2,999 gross tonnage.
Under blue skies this Bloomsday, the launch of an Arklow Shipping cargoship took place at a shipyard in the north-east of The Netherlands , writes Jehan Ashmore. Near the Dutch city of Groningen the Arklow Glen (yard no. 455) built…

Shipyards

Afloat will be focusing on news and developments of shipyards with newbuilds taking shape on either slipways and building halls.

The common practice of shipbuilding using modular construction, requires several yards make specific block sections that are towed to a single designated yard and joined together to complete the ship before been launched or floated out.

In addition, outfitting quays is where internal work on electrical and passenger facilities is installed (or upgraded if the ship is already in service). This work may involve newbuilds towed to another specialist yard, before the newbuild is completed as a new ship or of the same class, designed from the shipyard 'in-house' or from a naval architect consultancy. Shipyards also carry out repair and maintenance, overhaul, refit, survey, and conversion, for example, the addition or removal of cabins within a superstructure. All this requires ships to enter graving /dry-docks or floating drydocks, to enable access to the entire vessel out of the water.

Asides from shipbuilding, marine engineering projects such as offshore installations take place and others have diversified in the construction of offshore renewable projects, from wind-turbines and related tower structures. When ships are decommissioned and need to be disposed of, some yards have recycling facilities to segregate materials, though other vessels are run ashore, i.e. 'beached' and broken up there on site. The scrapped metal can be sold and made into other items.