Shipbuilder left at mercy of market
THE market is “best placed” to deal with financial difficulties faced by Harland & Wolff, the Prime Minister has said.
The Government has decided not to offer financial support to the troubled Belfast shipbuilder, over concerns of losing public money.
The company, which is part of a consortium that landed a major contract to build new Fleet Solid Support ships for the Royal Navy, had applied for a £200 million loan guarantee from the Government as part of efforts to restructure its finances.
However, the Government decided not to act as a guarantor on the lending – while also ruling out direct funding to maintain the company’s liquidity. The firm has said it will seek alternative new debt facilities.
Speaking to reporters in Belfast this week, Sir Keir Starmer said the decision will be kept “under close review”.
The Prime Minister said: “We’ve obviously looked at that very carefully, the Business Secretary has made a decision about it. Of course, we will keep that under close review.
“We do think the market is best placed to deal with the current situation,” he added, “but we’ll keep it under review because the work – particularly in the defence realm – is very, very important to us.”
Harland & Wolff, which famously built the Titanic, has four sites – one in Belfast, two in Scotland (Methil, on the Firth of Forth, and Arnish, on the Isle of Lewis), and one in England (Appledore, in north Devon).
Harland & Wolff had planned to launch a new ferry service between mainland Cornwall and the Isles of Scilly this year, but the project was scrapped at the start of this month, even though its new ferry vessel was moored at Newlyn Harbour.
Scilly Ferries and its bright yellow and black catamaran, Atlantic Wolff, was due to begin business this summer, after a series of delays, but the ferry never set sail for the islands after Harland & Wolff announced it would refocus on its core business.
Harland & Wolff’s interim executive chairman, Russell Downs said earlier this month: “It is with great sadness that we announce that Scilly Ferries, including the Atlantic Wolff fast ferry, has ceased operations. The decision has been made because of the need for Harland & Wolff to refocus on its core business activities.
“As the company’s new board assesses all aspects of the group’s functions, the ferry operation was identified as being overly ambitious, given current circumstances.”