Navantia UK has opened a new fabrication hall at its Harland & Wolff shipyard in Belfast, supporting more than 900 skilled jobs and apprenticeships in the city.

The Resurgent Hall was officially opened on 2 November by Luke Pollard, the Minister for Defence Readiness and Industry. It is the centrepiece of Navantia UK's £157 million investment programme across its four UK shipyards, with around £100 million being spent in Belfast alone.

The extended hall adds 5,000 square metres of fabrication space, fitted with new cranes, robotic plasma-cutting technology and a mechanised panel line. It will be used to build three Fleet Solid Support ships — RFA Resurgent, RFA Reliant and RFA Resourceful — for the Royal Fleet Auxiliary under a £1.6 billion Ministry of Defence programme. The ships, which will replenish Royal Navy task groups at sea, are due to enter service in the early 2030s.

Navantia UK chief executive Donato Martinez said: "Shipbuilding is returning to Belfast. We've named it Resurgent for a reason. Jobs, investment and activity are resurgent in shipbuilding."

A growing shipbuilding workforce

Since acquiring the Harland & Wolff, Appledore, Methil and Arnish yards in January 2025, Navantia has grown into one of the UK's leading shipbuilding employers, supporting more than 1,300 jobs and over 340 apprentices across Northern Ireland, England and Scotland. The company has committed to creating 750 apprenticeships by 2030, up from an earlier target of 500.

The opening follows a record year for defence investment in Northern Ireland, which rose by 63 per cent in real terms in 2025/26 to £464 million — the highest level since records began, and equivalent to £240 for every person living there. Navantia is also refurbishing the yard's two giant yellow cranes, Samson and Goliath.