Harland & Wolff installs £1.5m crane package ahead of FSS shipbuilding

Titanic shipbuilder Harland & Wolff has completed the installation of 11 new cranes at its Belfast shipyard in a £1.5m (€1.7 million) investment designed to support construction of three Fleet Solid Support (FSS) ships for the Royal Fleet Auxiliary.

The equipment has been supplied by County Down-based Walter Watson, with the final unit – a 20m-span semi-Goliath gantry crane – commissioned at the yard at the end of August.

The crane has a lifting capacity of 20 tonnes and will be used to move steel and other shipbuilding components around the yard. Its semi-Goliath configuration has one leg running on a ground rail, positioning it between a conventional gantry crane and Harland & Wolff’s two landmark Samson and Goliath cranes, which are themselves undergoing renovation.

Walter Watson manufactured and tested all 11 cranes at its Castlewellan facility before transporting them to Belfast using its own equipment. Installation of the cranes was carried out using an 80-tonne mobile crane from the supplier’s fleet. The specification includes radio control, anti-collision technology, digital load indication and magnet-enabled preparation within the control panels.

The wider package comprises six electric overhead travelling (EOT) cranes and four jib cranes, installed in and around the yard’s fabrication hall. The hall has also been extended by 5,000m² as part of a wider £98.5m modernisation and recapitalisation programme under new owner Navantia UK.

“This new crane will play a key role in shipyard operations,” said Harland & Wolff general manager Carlos Lopez Carregado. “It will be a vital piece of equipment as we assemble ship blocks in readiness to build the Fleet Solid Support ship, and many future ships in Belfast.”

The investment is part of the redevelopment of Harland & Wolff following Navantia’s agreement to buy the company’s four shipyards in Belfast, Appledore, Methil and Arnish in December 2024, saving around 1,000 jobs just before the Christmas of that year.

The deal was intended to preserve the FSS programme, under which three naval logistics support vessels are being built.

The FSS vessels will provide supplies, ammunition and stores to Royal Navy ships at sea. The government said at the time that assembly would remain in UK shipyards, with no large delay to the programme anticipated.

The crane installation is part of a broader programme at Belfast that also includes a new panel line, plasma-cutting equipment, digital design tools and improvements to buildings and infrastructure.