Harland & Wolff is delighted to confirm its widely anticipated launch into the cruise sector. The shipyard’s main facilities in Belfast host two of the largest docks in Europe at 556m and 335m respectively, along with numerous fully serviced quayside berths.
InfraStrata plc, the parent company of Harland & Wolff announced on 5 December 2019 that it had completed the acquisition of the assets of Northern Ireland’s most iconic shipyard – Harland and Wolff.
Since then, the company has hit the ground running by undertaking an impressive host of dry docking projects with a steady backlog of contracts building up. With no other docks in the UK operating in this sector since the King George V Dock was closed in Southampton by the A&P Group in 2005, InfraStrata has clearly identified a niche in the cruise market.
John Wood Chief Executive Officer, commented “We are delighted to be re-establishing the Harland & Wolff brand within the cruise sector. Our two facilities in Belfast are now fully open for business. A key sector that we are actively pursuing is that of cruise vessels which we believe will make optimum use of our expansive facilities.
During the acquisition, we were delighted to have reached a labour agreement that enabled us to retain the highly skilled and experienced workforce. We have continued to build on that capability and capacity by welcoming more team members into the business and attracting a globally-recognised and motivated leadership team.
The re-opening of the yard has been split into two phases, in order to de-risk the operations and to ensure a smooth return to a business as usual scenario. We are pleased to have completed the reactivation and are now proceeding at pace towards fully realising our strategic goals, whilst receiving a large amount of positive feedback from our new clients.
The UK is in a prime location as a turnaround port and is only a short passage away from the cruising grounds of the Mediterranean. It is a key element of our strategy to focus on the cruise industry and returning the yard back to the days when it was a market leader in this sector.”
