Shipbuilding Harland and Wolff

Whilst we all want shipbuilding at Appledore to continue, the news that Spanish shipbuilder Navantia is in line to buy Harland and Wolff has had a mixed reception. Some say it should be the UK Government that should step in to safeguard a national industry. In Belfast, there is a particularly sensitive angle relating to the sectarianism of the past.  During the Troubles, Harland and Wolff’s iconic cranes were seen as symbols of Protestant supremacy, so the idea of the yard being taken over by a company from a country with a traditionally Catholic identity is controversial for some. Here in north Devon, I have heard the view that the yard should not be bought by Spain because ‘we won the Armada’.

But are British taxpayers up for bearing the cost of bailing out a company that appears to have shown a reckless lack of focus on its core business in Appledore? 

There is a huge coincidence of interest between Navantia and those employed at the Appledore yard. Both want to safeguard the multi-million Royal Navy contract to build fleet support vessels. Both want to position themselves to win new contracts – not just to supply the defence industry, but to support offshore wind. Spanish sources say that Navantia is also positioning itself to be part of a big new Spanish government contract to build a new hi-tech defence hub, but is only interested in the Belfast yard. This means that the future of Appledore and Harland and Wolff’s two Scottish yards may in fact be at the core of negotiations currently under way. 

The Northern Ireland’s Economy Minister has declared his support for Navantia’s bid to refloat the company and he is surely right. Beyond safeguarding jobs and making the company fit for the future, having a major Spanish company here on our doorstep would open up many opportunities for us. It would feed into R&D at the Appledore Clean Maritime Innovation Centre and offer training and career opportunities at their state-of-the-art yard in Cadiz. There would be knock-on benefits for the hospitality industry in terms of business tourism and boosting the visitor economy. Apprentices would be able to undertake work experience in Cadiz and boost their career options by learning a bit of Spanish at the same time.  And for all of us, it would be an opportunity to promote our shared maritime heritage and put aside the differences of the past.