Member Info for stokey12

CaptainSwag ref 11.22 post I found it very interesting that he did not consider using convertible loan notes to raise finance and possibly pay off creditors. His answer to my other question on his fiduciary duty was equally underwhelming.

Just seenn this exchange https://questions-statements.parliament.uk/written-questions/detail/2024-09-02/3700 the text says

Jim Shannon

Democratic Unionist Party

Strangford

Commons

To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland, whether he is taking steps to secure further funding for Harland and Wolf in Northern Ireland.

Answer

Hilary Benn

Labour

Leeds South

Commons

Answered on

6 September 2024

Following a comprehensive assessment of the company’s financial profile and the criteria set out in UK Government risk policies, the Secretary of State for Business and Trade confirmed in a Written Ministerial Statement on 22 July that the UK Government had decided not to proceed with the provision of an Export Development Guarantee to Harland and Wolff.

This was not an easy decision, but we concluded that the market is best placed to resolve these commercial matters. Government funding would not necessarily secure our objectives, and there is a risk that taxpayer money would be lost.

We want to see an outcome for Harland and Wolff that delivers shipbuilding and fabrication in Northern Ireland and protects jobs, and we encourage all parties to engage with trade unions before further decisions are made.

Just seen this post on LinkedIn https://www.linkedin.com/feed/update/urn:li:activity:7236372243830710272/. The post says

Russell DavisonRussell Davison • 3rd+ • 3rd+ Leading Shipbuilding at Harland & Wolff’s Historic Belfast ShipyardLeading Shipbuilding at Harland & Wolff’s Historic Belfast Shipyard 56m •

I am delighted to share that I’ve joined Harland & Wolff as General Manager of Shipbuilding, based in Belfast.

My role will oversee all aspects of shipbuilding operations, including leadership of the shipyard’s highly skilled workforce, enabling the successful delivery of the the Fleet Solid Support ships that are so vital for the Royal Navy, and continuing to deliver world-class solutions across the maritime, defence, and energy sectors to help drive Harland & Wolff’s ongoing growth and success. It’s an honor to lead an incredible team in Belfast, at such an iconic institution, rich in history and innovation.

I wish all my colleagues involved in Canada’s National Shipbuilding Strategy fair winds and following seas. It is great to see the progress that we built together!

So a new General Manager has been appointed so it looks like Belfast is being kept. No idea about the other sites.

LevsInvest ref 09.47 post if you were to look at the matter as the Chancellor appears to have done on purely the basis of the company risk profile then you are right. However, I would argue that was not the proper way to look at it. Firstly, the worst argument is that it does not look good if you fund in full or in part the redevelopment of Casement Park which has limited employment opprotunities but not HARL which currently employs 1600 across four sites. Secondly, it would be very hard to develop a domestic renewable energy industry without both Methil and Arnish due to the fabrication footprint they have. There is no certainty that any new buyer for them would utilise the yards for renewable energy uses. Thirdly, if you look at the work done at Arnish it is clear with proper managment and support it has potential to develop into a specialist fabrication site serving a number of industries. In addition with the Stornoway Deepwater Terminal it is well placed to service the Offshore Wind Industry. Fourthly, with no challenge to the current duopoly in the building of naval vessels the opportunity to drive improvements in the speed and efficiency of delivery in new vessels will be lost.

Selangore the problem is that as I understand it the replacement rudder was delivered and presumably fitted around a month ago so the question is what is the reason for the continued delay.

Bubble2021 ref 10.28 post that does not follow. With all the delays I would be surprised if HARL does not end up losing some of the cost of the work done. I say this because there is a good possibility that the contract with Villa Vie Residences contained a liquidated damages clause so that HARL would be responsible for any delays caused by it.

Picked this up fro the UK Defence Journal twitter feed. https://ukdefencejournal.org.uk/government-asks-public-for-views-on-new-defence-review/

LSE03 ref 10.16 post I would disagree if the delivery schedule is accelerated then you risk having ships while not having the crews to man them. The article makes the point that RFA Stirling Castle has an issue with obtaining the crews to man the ship.

SYN00GOLD ref 07.31 post sorry my error I meant the Executive Chairman Mr Downs.

Chrisatrdg ref 15.29 post In answer to your question I think this depends on two things. Firstly, we are due to get an industrial strategy from the government I believe. As far as it relates to renewable energy the problem that HMG has is that a large chunk of the available fabrication space belongs to HARL. If HARL is broken up there is no guarantee that whoever buys Arnish or Methil will use them as fabrication yards. This will therefore undermine a plank of the industrial strategy. Secondly, once Riverfort have been paid off will Richard Dawes and/or Andrew Fort stay around or appoint new directors to take HARL forward. My concern is that they seem to have a track record of selling off companies or winding them up they do not seem interested in keeping companies going. So I think that long term HARL can only carry on as an independent company if Richard Dawes and Andrew Fort are replaced by a competent board.

It looks like HARL Marine Services is being kept busy with work for a range of clients. This from BBC News https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/articles/cjrd152w5lyo Looks like they handled the transfer from the vessel that bought them to the Isles of Scilly to land.

Looks like the UK is not the onl country with manpower issues with its Navy https://x.com/NavalInstitute/status/1826771855031894248

LSE03 ref 06.48 post I wonder if the government would step in and provide support for Methil or Arnish to develop wind turbine factories. For safety reasons I am not holding my breath.

ForrestGump ref 17.31 post You do realise that both Belfast and IslandMagee are in Northern Ireland and not in the Republic of Ireland. So what you may or may not know about the Republic of Ireland is with the grreatest of respect irrelevant as they are two different countries.

Chrisatrdg ref 12.50 post I would add that I believe that the First Minister and Deputy First Minister of the NI Executive as well as The First Minister in Scotland have been putting pressure due to the potential job losses both direct and indirect.

See also https://www.rte.ie/news/business/2024/0819/1465724-market-best-placed-to-deal-with-harland-wolff/ also there is this https://www.westernpeople.ie/financial-support-for-troubled-belfast-shipbuilder-harland-and-wolff-under-review_arid-28888.html Both say the same. Sounds like they are getting ready for a U turn.

This article from the Bromsgrove advertiser makes interesting reading. Sounds like the government has not completely ruled out intervening. https://www.bromsgroveadvertiser.co.uk/news/national/24528337.pm-says-financial-support-harland-wolff-under-review/

LSE03 ref 08.17 post In view of the size of her 360m in length and 60m beam there will not be many drydocks that would be able to do it. All we need is to osrt out the financial issues. As it operates out of Miami it would be eligible for UKEF funding for the work using a different scheme to the development grant.

LSE03 ref 09.00 post I do not think he is interested in IslandMagee at all. As far as I can tell he only wants Belfast.

Steve96 ref 16.45 post I am not entirely sure that any of the statutory grounds for a Disquaification Order under the Company Directors Disqualification Act 1996 exists. If you want to pursue the issue then you should contact the Department of Business and Trade and request they look into the matter.