Harland and Wolff wins £61m oil ship upgrade deal
- The renovation of SeaRose will begin in early 2024
Harland and Wolff – best known for building the Titanic at the Belfast shipyard – has won a £61m contract to upgrade a ship used to store oil.
The renovation of SeaRose – a so-called floating production storage and offloading vessel – will start in early 2024.
The ship will be in the shipyard’s construction dock for at least three months.
Historical: Harland and Wolff built the Titanic at the Belfast shipyard
The project will require around 1,000 workers at its peak, providing a much-needed boost for the shipyard operator.
The company warned last month that construction of new cruise ships had “stagnant” against the backdrop of rising interest rates.
Operators are instead “increasingly decommissioning old ships and renovating others as part of their midlife upgrades,” the company said, adding that it “expects to benefit from this trend.”
It has opened offices in Southampton and Miami to compete for more work in the sector.
The company announced the plans as it reported a half-year loss of £31.5m, down from £17.6m a year ago, despite a 65 per cent rise in turnover to £25.5m.