Today we were delighted to welcome Nusrat Ghani MP, Minster of State at the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy to our Belfast site.
As part of the visit, Ms Ghani toured the yard, met with Group CEO, John Wood and observed the ongoing work as part of the two contracts awarded by Cory for the fabrication of 23 barges which, combined, are worth over £18 million.
This is our first ship build contract win since our Belfast yard was acquired in 2019, now, we anticipate further such contract wins as we actively target major fabrication programmes such as Fleet Solid Support warships.
The visit showcased the recent investment and improvements that we have made to both the site and our workforce, this has included the installation of a state-of-the-art welding robot which cuts manual welding times by 60%, as well as a site-wide workforce ramp up which has brought long-term employment to Belfast and beyond resulting in over 200 employees by the end of 2022.
We have has also recently partnered with Power NI to see the site supplied by local, renewable energy sources, saving over 826 tonnes of CO2 per year.
Nusrat Ghani, Minister of State at the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy commented: “Shipbuilding is a core part of our industrial heritage, and the cutting-edge high-tech work underway at Harland & Wolff is proof it is key to our future too. Our world-leading shipwrights create high-skill jobs and boost the economy right across the UK, and we’re determined to support them through our refreshed National Shipbuilding Strategy.”
John Wood, Group CEO of Harland & Wolff commented: “It has been a great pleasure to welcome Minister Ghani to site today and to share with her the Harland & Wolff story and future Group-wide growth opportunities. Under the iconic backdrop of our two gantry cranes, Samson and Goliath, we hope this visit has brought the Harland & Wolff vision to life.”
Nusrat Ghani was appointed Minster of State at the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy in September 2022.
She was previously Parliamentary Under Secretary of State at the Department for Transport from January 2018 to February 2020 and was a Government Whip between July 2019 and December 2019, and an Assistant Government Whip from January 2018 to July 2019.
