Harland & Wolff has said that it would “rationalize” the number of people working at its Methil facility in Scotland.

This was in response to the contract termination settlement with Saipem over the building of jackets for the Neart na Gaoithe offshore wind farm project in the outer Firth of Forth in Scotland.

Harland & Wolff had, in April 2021, won a contract with Saipem to build and load out eight offshore wind turbine generator (WTG) jacket foundations at it’s Methil facility.

However, Harland & Wolff said in September 2022 that the project – which had a 12-month completion period – had encountered delays due to a number of client materials arriving late and being defective in nature, rendering them incapable of being used.

In a statement issued on February 17, 2023, Harland & Wolff said it had successfully completed the negotiations with Saipem, with the contract value finalized at £16m, “representing approximately 70% of the contract value as per the deed of variation signed in September 2022 as part of descoping from eight jackets to four.”

“The entire amount has now been paid in full and final settlement of the contract [has been reached],” H&W said.

Following the completion of the settlement with Saipem, H&W said that it would “undertake a process of rationalizing the Methil facility’s workforce to approximately 115 core personnel.” It did not say how many people would be laid off. Back when the Saipem contract was first signed, Saipem said the deal would “create around 290 direct and indirect Scottish jobs.”

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Following on from the announcement of a scheme to provide up to €35 mn to local authorities to rejuvenate Ireland’s public marine infrastructure, the Government of Ireland announced the approval of €32.7 mn in funding for 110 projects around the Irish coast which will fund projects worth over €40 million in total. The scheme is proposed for funding under the EU Brexit Adjustment Reserve.

The Scheme arose from a recommendation of the Seafood Taskforce, set up in March 2021 to look at the impacts specifically on the fishing sector and coastal communities. The Taskforce recommended that the Brexit Adjustment Reserve (BAR) be used to fund rejuvenation of Ireland’s publicly owned coastal and marine infrastructure specifically to address the economic consequences of Brexit arising from the implications to the Irish fishing industry. This investment is intended to help to drive economic diversification and will complement other measures such as Community Led Local Development via the Fisheries Local Action Groups.

One of the recipients are Dun Laoghaire Harbour who will receive €32.7m for berth fenders and related matters and €1,744M will be for East Pier Revetment Repairs.

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It’s great to see the RNLI making the #maritimeconnection with National Maritime SME Working Group Champions the MIT Group, who have proudly supplied the two Twin Disc MGX5086SC gearboxes fitted onboard the new Shannon Class vessel that will patrol the waters of the River Medway.

After a long delay because of the Coronavirus pandemic, the state-of-the-art Shannon class vessel arrived at her new permanent home of Sheerness, after leaving the RNLI’s headquarters in Poole, Dorset.

The new £2.2 million lifeboat will transform the way Sheerness RNLI volunteers are able to save lives at sea. With a top speed of 25 knots and a range of 250 nautical miles, the self-righting lifeboat is ideally suited for offshore searches or equally for rescues in calmer shallower waters, such as the creeks and channels of the Medway.

The Wight Shipyard Co , the UK’s leading specialist manufacturer of aluminium marine craft, based in East Cowes on the Isle of Wight, has been awarded the prestigious Queen’s Award for International Trade in recognition of its work to increase British exports.

A home-grown British marine manufacturing success story, the Wight Shipyard Company builds high-speed passenger ferries, tourist vessels and commercial workboats for the windfarm support vessel market, both domestically and internationally. The company was formed by leading entrepreneur Sir Charles Dunstone and business partner Peter Morton in 2016 with a bold vision to restore the UK’s shipbuilding business.

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