The Belfast shipyard owned by Harland & Wolff will not be ready to begin work on a major £1.6 billion Ministry of Defence contract until the middle of 2026, according to the UK head of its new parent company.
Donato Martínez, appointed chief executive of Navantia UK in May, announced that significant portions of the first of three Royal Navy fleet support ships will now be constructed in Spain rather than Northern Ireland.
Harland & Wolff and Navantia were awarded the fleet solid support ship (FSS) contract in 2022 as part of the Team Resolute consortium, which originally planned to build sections of the vessels in Belfast, Appledore in Devon, and Navantia’s Cádiz facility, with final assembly set for Belfast.
Martínez said those plans have been reworked due to delays in preparing the Belfast site.
“The facilities were not ready in Belfast… we shuffled a little bit things for ship one into Spain, and we moved from Spain things for ships two and three,” he said. “All in all, we are doing more work in the UK than originally foreseen.”
Navantia, owned by the Spanish state, completed its £93 million takeover of Harland & Wolff’s four shipyards in January. The yards had been kept outside the administration process following the collapse of Harland & Wolff Group Holdings last September, with Navantia providing £23.1 million in advance funding to maintain operations and safeguard over 1,000 jobs, including around 500 in Belfast.
Martínez confirmed that construction of the mid-section of the first ship—initially planned for Belfast—will now be carried out in Spain, alongside most of the remaining work on that vessel. Only the bow will be produced in the UK, at Appledore.
Despite the reshuffle, Martínez said the overall programme remains on schedule for completion by 2032. He added that Navantia is increasing its investment in the Harland & Wolff yards to £90 million, up from the £78 million previously announced, with total investment in the business now at £115 million.
He said the upgrades will position the Belfast shipyard to compete for future projects:
“At the end of the programme, they will be able to do in a competitive manner any part of any ship. We are going to build the skills.”
