Harland and Wolff

Harland & Wolff Heavy Industries is a Northern Irish heavy industrial company, specialising in shipbuilding and offshore construction, located in Belfast, Northern Ireland.

The shipyard has built many ships; among the best remembered are the White Star trio RMS Olympic, RMS Titanic and HMHS Britannic, the Royal Navy's HMS Belfast, Royal Mail Line's Andes, Shaw Savill's Southern Cross, Union-Castle's RMS Pendennis Castle and P&O's SS Canberra. Harland and Wolff's official history, Shipbuilders to the World, was published in 1986.

As of 2011, the expanding offshore wind power industry has taken centre stage and 75% of the company's work is based on offshore renewable energy.

Early history
Workers leaving the shipyard at Queens Road in early 1911. The RMS Titanic is in the background, beneath the Arrol gantry.

Statue of Edward James Harland in the grounds of Belfast City Hall

Harland & Wolff was formed in 1861 by Edward James Harland (1831–1895) and Hamburg-born Gustav Wilhelm Wolff (1834–1913, in the UK from age 14). In 1858 Harland, then general manager, bought the small shipyard on Queen's Island from his employer Robert Hickson.

The Harland & Wolff Belfast Drawing Offices during the early 20th century

After buying Hickson's shipyard, Harland made his assistant Wolff a partner in the company. Wolff was the nephew of Gustav Schwabe, Hamburg, who was heavily invested in the Bibby Line, and the first three ships that the newly incorporated shipyard built were for that line. Harland made a success of the business through several innovations, notably replacing the wooden upper decks with iron ones which increased the strength of the ships; and giving the hulls a flatter bottom and squarer cross section, which increased their capacity.

When Harland died in 1895, William James Pirrie became the chairman of the company until his death in 1924. Thomas Andrews also became the general manager and head of the draughting department in 1907. It was in this period that the company built Olympic and her sister-ships Titanic and Britannic between 1909 and 1914, commissioning Sir William Arrol & Co. to construct a massive twin gantry and slipway structure for the project.

In 1912, the company acquired another shipyard at Govan in Glasgow, Scotland. It bought the former London & Glasgow Engineering & Iron Shipbuilding Co's Middleton and Govan New shipyards in Govan and Mackie & Thomson's Govan Old yard, which had been owned by William Beardmore and Company. The three neighbouring yards were amalgamated and redeveloped to provide a total of seven building berths, a fitting-out basin and extensive workshops. Harland & Wolff specialised in building tankers and cargo ships at Govan. The nearby shipyard of A. & J. Inglis was also purchased by Harland & Wolff in 1919, along with a stake in the company's primary steel supplier, David Colville & Sons. Harland & Wolff also established shipyards at Bootle in Liverpool, North Woolwich in London and Southampton. These shipyards were all eventually closed from the early 1960s however, when the company opted to consolidate its operations in Belfast.

The war years
A burner operating at night on the deck of a ship at Harland and Wolff's Liverpool yard (27 October 1944).

During World War I, Harland and Wolff built monitors and cruisers, including the 15-inch gun armed "large light cruiser" HMS Glorious. In 1918, the company opened a new shipyard on the eastern side of the Musgrave Channel which was named the East Yard. This yard specialised in mass-produced ships of standard design developed during the First World War.

The company started an aircraft manufacturing subsidiary with Short Brothers, called Short & Harland Limited in 1936. Its first order was for 189 Handley Page Hereford bombers built under license from Handley Page for the Royal Air Force. During the Second World War, this factory built Short Stirling bombers as the Hereford was removed from service.

The shipyard was busy during World War II, building 6 aircraft carriers, 2 cruisers (including HMS Belfast) and 131 other naval ships; and repairing over 22,000 vessels. It also manufactured tanks and artillery components. It was during this period that the company's workforce peaked at around 35,000 people. However, many of the vessels built during this era were commissioned right at the end of World War II, as Harland and Wolff were focused on ship repair during the first three years of the war. The yard on Queen's Island was heavily bombed by the Luftwaffe in April and May 1941 causing considerable damage to the shipbuilding facilities and destroying the aircraft factory.

Post-war period
With the rise of the jet-powered airliner in the late 1950s, the demand for ocean liners declined. This, coupled with competition from Japan, led to difficulties for the British shipbuilding industry. The last liner that the company launched was the MV Arlanza for Royal Mail Line in 1960, whilst the last liner completed was the SS Canberra for P&O in 1961.

In the 1960s, notable achievements for the yard included the tanker Myrina which was the first supertanker built in the UK, and the largest vessel ever launched down a slipway (September 1967). In the same period the yard also built the semi-submersible drilling rig Sea Quest which, due to its three-legged design, was launched down three parallel slipways. This was a first and only time this was ever done.

In the mid-1960s, the British government started advancing loans and subsidies to British shipyards to preserve jobs. Some of this money was used to finance the modernisation of the yard, allowing it to build the much larger post-war merchant ships including one of 333,000 tonnes. However continuing problems led to the company's nationalisation, though not as part of British Shipbuilders, in 1977.

The company was bought from the British government in 1989 in a management/employee buy-out in partnership with the Norwegian shipping magnate Fred Olsen; leading to a new company called Harland & Wolff Holdings Plc. By this time, the number of people employed by the company had fallen to around 3,000.

For the next few years, Harland & Wolff specialised in building standard Suezmax oil tankers, and has continued to concentrate on vessels for the offshore oil and gas industry. It has made some forays outside this market. The company bid unsuccessfully tendered against Chantiers de l'Atlantique for the construction of Cunard line's new Queen Mary 2.[3]

In the late 1990s, the yard was part of the then British Aerospace's team for the Royal Navy's Future Carrier (CVF) programme. It was envisaged that the ship would be assembled at the Harland & Wolff dry-dock in Belfast. In 1999 BAe merged with Marconi Electronic Systems. The new company, BAE Systems Marine, included the former Marconi shipyards on the Clyde and at Barrow-in-Furness thus rendering H&W's involvement surplus to requirements.

Restructuring and current operations
The Samson and Goliath gantry cranes have become city landmarks.

Harland & Wolff is now a leading offshore fabrication and ship repair yard.

MS Isle of Inishmore and HSC Jonathan Swift undergoing refit at Harland & Wolff in 2008.

Faced with competitive pressures (especially as regards shipbuilding), Harland & Wolff sought to shift and broaden their portfolio, focusing less on shipbuilding and more on design and structural engineering, as well as ship repair, offshore construction projects and competing for other projects to do with metal engineering and construction. This led to Harland and Wolff constructing a series of bridges in Britain and also in the Republic of Ireland, such as the James Joyce Bridge and the restoration of Dublin's Ha'penny Bridge, building on the success of its first foray into the civil engineering sector with the construction of the Foyle Bridge in the 1980s.

Harland & Wolff's last shipbuilding project (to date) was the MV Anvil Point, one of six near identical Point class sealift ships built for use by the Ministry of Defence. The ship, built under licence from German shipbuilders Flensburger Schiffbau-Gesellschaft, was launched in 2003.

Harland and Wolff was nearly awarded the contract to build the RMS Queen Mary 2 in 2003, but was not given the government guarantee necessary to do so. As a result the contract was awarded to Chantiers de l'Atlantique. The ship entered service in 2004.[4]

In recent years the company has indeed seen its ship-related workload increase slightly. Whilst Harland & Wolff has no involvement in any shipbuilding projects for the foreseeable future, the company is increasingly involved in overhaul, re-fitting and ship repair, as well as the construction and repair of off-shore equipment such as oil platforms. On 1 February 2011 it was announced that Harland & Wolff had won the contract to refurbish the SS Nomadic, effectively rekindling its nearly 150-year association with the White Star Line. Structural steel work on the ship began on 10 February 2011 and was completed in time for the 2012 Belfast Titanic Festival. In July 2012 Harland & Wolff was to carry out the dry docking and service of the Husky Oil SeaRose FPSO (Floating Production, Storage and Offloading) vessel.

Belfast's skyline is still dominated today by Harland & Wolff's famous twin Gantry cranes, Samson and Goliath, built in 1974 and 1969 respectively. There is also speculation about a resurgence in the prosperity of the shipyard thanks to the company's diversification into emerging technologies, particularly in renewable energy development, such as offshore wind turbine and tidal power construction, which may provide an opportunity to further improve the company's fortunes in the long term. For example, the United Kingdom planned to build 7,500 new offshore wind turbines between 2008 and 2020,[5] creating great demand for heavy assembly work. Unlike land-based wind turbines, where assembly occurs on site, offshore wind turbines have part of their assembly done in a shipyard, and then construction barges transport the tower sections, rotors, and nacelles to the site for final erection and assembly. As a result of this, in late 2007, the 'Goliath' gantry crane was re-commissioned, having been moth-balled in 2003 due to the lack of heavy-lifting work at the yard.

In June 2008, assembly work at the Belfast yard was underway on 60 Vestas V90-3MW wind turbines for the Robin Rigg Wind Farm.[6] This was the second offshore wind farm assembled by the company for Vestas having completed the logistics for the Barrow Offshore Wind Farm in 2006. In August 2011 Harland and Wolff completed the logistics for the Ormonde Wind Farm which consisted of 30 REpower 5MW turbines.

In March 2008, the construction of the world's first commercial tidal stream turbine, for Marine Current Turbines, was completed at the Belfast yard. The installation of the 1.2MW SeaGen Tidal System was begun in Strangford Lough in April 2008.[7]

In July 2010, Harland & Wolff secured a contract to make a prototype tidal energy turbine for Scotrenewables Ltd.[8] Manufacture of the SR250 device was completed in May 2011 and has been undergoing testing in Orkney since.

As of April 2012, the booming offshore wind power industry has taken centre stage. Harland & Wolff are currently working on three innovative meteorological mast foundations for the Dogger Bank and Firth of Forth offshore wind farms, as well as putting the finishing touches to two Siemens substations for the Gwynt y Môr offshore wind farm. Seventy-five per cent of the company's work is based on offshore renewable energy. Harland & Wolff is one of many UK and international companies profiting from the emergence of UK wind- and marine-generated electricity, which is attracting significant inward investment.[2]

Archives
The archives relating to the Harland & Wolff Heavy Industries are maintained by the Archives of the University of Glasgow (GUAS). A collection of Harland & Wolff papers are held at Public Record Office of Northern Ireland (PRONI).[9] Their "Introduction Harland and Wolff Papers" issued 2007, notes "The Harland & Wolff archive in PRONI comprises c.2,000 files, c.200 volumes and c.16,000 documents, 1861–1987, documenting most aspects of the history of Belfast's famous shipbuilding firm". A further major archive is held at the Ulster Folk and Transport Museum (UFTM). This has a photographic collection and a ships' plans collection (i.e., technical drawings). While over 2,000 photographs in the UFTM Welch Collection may be accessed, the plans collection is not advertised on the UFTM website. According to PRONI (2007:10),[10] "The UFTM's collection of ships' plans are not available to the public at the moment. There is no copy service". Selected early ship's plans (dating from 1860 to 1882) are reproduced in a pictorial book by McCluskie (1998).[11]

List of ships built
SS Venetian – the first steamer built by Harland & Wolff 1860 – a plaque on the William James Pirrie monument, grounds of Belfast City Hall.

The Bibby Line cargo steamship Derbyshire, built in 1897

Ships built by Harland and Wolff include:[12][13]
 * This transport-related list is incomplete; you can help by expanding it.

. Earlier ships (number 1 to 150, years 1869–82) are listed by McCluskie (1998:160).[11] The Nomadic Preservation Society website also maintains a comprehensive list of ships built by Harland and Wolff.
 * SS Venetian, completed 1860 for Bibby Line
 * Majestic, built 1860, used until 1950 in Chile
 * RMS Atlantic, built 1870, maiden voyage 8 June 1871, sank 1 April 1873
 * RMS Oceanic, launched on 27 August 1870, maiden voyage 2 March 1871. The White Star Line's first liner. H+W also built 88 other ships for White Star
 * SS Baltic, later Veendam, sank 6 February 1898
 * SS Adriatic, launched on 17 October 1871, maiden voyage 11 April 1872
 * SS Celtic, launched on 18 June 1872, maiden voyage 24 October 1872
 * SS Britannic, maiden voyage 25 June 1874, scrapped 1903
 * SS British Crown, launched 1879, maiden voyage 15 October 1879, renamed Amsterdam 1887
 * SS British Queen, launched 1880, maiden voyage 31 January 1881, renamed Onega 1915, sunk by torpedo 1918
 * SS Germanic, launched 1874, scrapped 1950
 * SS Coptic, launched 10 August 1881, maiden voyage 16 November 1881
 * SS Doric, launched 1883, 1906 renamed Asia
 * SS Ionic, launched 1884, scrapped 1908
 * SS Majestic, launched 1889, scrapped 1914
 * SS Michigan, Launched 19 April 1890, Maiden Voyage on 24 June 1890; Renamed USAT Kilpatrick, Acropolis, Washington, Great Canton; Scrapped in Italy 1924
 * SS Mississippi, Launched 29 August 1890, Maiden Voyage on 28 October 1890; Renamed USAT Buford; Scrapped in Japan 1929
 * SS Massachusetts, Launched on 17 December 1891; Maiden Voyage on 24 April 1892; Renamed the Sheridan; Scrapped in October 1923
 * SS Manitoba, Launched on 7 January 1892; Maiden Voyage on 15 April 1892; Renamed the Logan, Candler; Scrapped in 1926
 * SS Mohawk, Launched in 1892; Maiden Voyage on April 1892; Renamed the Grant, Chinouk; Scrapped in 1946
 * SS Naronic, launched 1892, missing at sea March 1893
 * SS Bovic, launched 1892, scrapped 1928
 * SS Mobile, Launched on 20 January 1893; Renamed the Sherman, Calawaii; Scrapped in Japan in 1933
 * SS Gothic, maiden voyage 28 December 1893, scrapped 1926
 * SS Persia, Launched in 1894, renamed Minnewaska and then USAT Thomas; Scrapped in 1929
 * SS Armenian, launched 25 November 1895, sunk by torpedo 1915
 * SS Canada, launched on 14 May 1896, maiden voyage 1 October 1896
 * SS Pennsylvania, launched on 10 September 1896, maiden voyage 30 January 1897, renamed USS Nanesmond on 20 January 1919; Scrapped 1924
 * SS Gaika, launched 1897, scrapped 1929
 * SS Derbyshire, completed 1897 for Bibby Line, scrapped 1931
 * SS Cymric, launched 1898, sunk 13 April 1916
 * SS New England, launched 7 April 1898, maiden voyage 30 June 1898, renamed Romanic November 1913, scrapped 1922
 * SS Afric, launched on 6 November 1898, maiden voyage 8 February 1899. Torpedoed and sunk, 12 February 1917, off Eddystone Rock.
 * RMS Oceanic, launched on 14 January 1899
 * SS Commonwealth, launched on 31 May 1900, maiden voyage 4 October 1900. Became Canopic (1904)
 * SS Minnehaha, launched on 31 March 1900; maiden voyage on 7 July 1900; torpedoed and sunk by U-Boat U 48 on 7 September 1917.
 * RMS Celtic, launched on 4 April 1901, maiden voyage 26 July 1901. Wrecked 10 December 1928, Roche's Point, Cobh, Ireland
 * RMS Walmer Castle, launched on 6 July 1901
 * SS Athenic, launched on 17 August 1901, maiden voyage 13 February 1902
 * SS Iowa, launched 15 August 1902, renamed Bohemia, then Empire Bittern and finally USS Artemis, sunk 1944
 * RMS Cedric, launched on 21 August 1902, maiden voyage 11 February 1903, scrapped 1932
 * WSL Corinthic launched 1902, scrapped 1932
 * SS Ionic, launched on 22 May 1903, scrapped in Japan, 1936
 * RMS Baltic, launched 21 November 1903, scrapped in Japan in 1933
 * RMS Kenilworth Castle, launched on 15 December 1903, completed May 1904
 * SS Mamari, maiden voyage 15 December 1904
 * RMS Aragon, launched on 23 February 1905, maiden voyage 14 July 1905, sunk by torpedo 1917
 * SS "Manipur " 1905, commissioned 1/1/1906 for Brocklebank Line for Calcutta routes. Master Captain W O Tyers 1911-4; purchased by HM Government 1915. Converted to HMS Sandhurst. Damaged in Scapa Flow 1917 by boiler explosion. Casualties buried in Lyness Cemetery, Hoy. Damaged Dover 1940, repaired. Scrapped 1947.
 * D/S Amerika, launched 20 April 1905, renamed USAT America, then USAT Edmund B. Alexander and finally USS America, scrapped 1957
 * TSS Nieuw Amsterdam, launched 28 September 1905; Maiden Voyage 7 April 1906; Scrapped in Japan February 1932.
 * SS Rohilla, completed 1906; lost off Whitby 30 October 1914.
 * RMS Adriatic (1907), launched on 20 September 1906, maiden voyage 8 May 1907, Scrapped in Japan 1935.
 * USS Republic, launched in 1907
 * SS Megantic, launched 1908, scrapped in Japan, 1933
 * SS Laurentic, launched 1908, sunk by mines January 1917
 * RMS Edinburgh Castle, launched on 27 January 1910, completed 28 April 1910, maiden voyage May 1910
 * SS Pakeha, launched on 26 May 1910, completed 20 August 1910
 * RMS Olympic, launched 20 October 1910, maiden voyage 14 June 1911
 * SS Nomadic, launched 25 April 1911, tender to RMS Titanic and RMS Olympic, under restoration 2011
 * SS Traffic, launched 27 April 1911, sunk 1941
 * RMS Titanic, Olympic class launched on 31 May 1911, maiden voyage 10 April 1912, sunk 15 April 1912 2:20 am (ship's time) 5:20 (GMT)
 * SS Zealandic, launched on 29 June 1911, maiden voyage 30 October 1911, sunk 1941
 * RMS Arlanza, launched 23 November 1911, completed September 1912
 * SS Ceramic, launched on 11 December 1912, completed 5 July 1913
 * SS Pittsburgh, launched 1913, entered service 1922, renamed Pennland, sunk 1942
 * SS Katoomba, launched on 10 April 1913. Later Columbia. Sold to Japanese breakers 22 August 1959
 * SS Alcantara, launched October 1913, sunk 29 February 1916
 * HMHS Britannic, improved Olympic class, launched on 26 February 1914, sunk by mine 1916
 * SS Euripides, launched on 29 January 1914, maiden voyage 1 July 1914. Re-fitted and renamed MS Akaroa 1932. Scrapped in Antwerp, 1954
 * SS Justicia, launched on 9 July 1914 as SS Statendam, completed April 1917
 * RMT Almanzora, launched on 19 November 1914, completed September 1915
 * SS Belgenland, originally SS Ceric, launched January 1914, completed 1917 as Belgic IV
 * RMS Regina, launched 1917, entered passenger service 1919, renamed Westerland, scrapped 1947
 * SS Venusia, in service 1918, sister-ships; first freighters ordered from H+W by Cunard Line
 * SS Varentia, in service 1918
 * RMS Arundel Castle, launched 11 September 1919, scrapped 1959
 * TSS Veendam, launched 18 November 1922; Maiden voyage 18 April 1923, Holland America Line Rotterdam – New York; Scrapped in Baltimore, Maryland 1953
 * RMS Mooltan, launched on 15 February 1923
 * RMS Maloja, launched on 19 April 1923
 * SS Minnewaska, maiden voyage 1 September 1923
 * RMS Asturias, launched on 7 July 1925, completed 21 February 1926
 * RMMV Carnarvon Castle, launched on 14 January 1926, maiden voyage 16 July 1926
 * RMS Alcantara, launched 1927, scrapped 1958
 * SS Laurentic, launched 16 June 1927, torpedoed and sunk 3 November 1940
 * SS Lochness, launched 6 June 1929; in service July 1929; scrapped 1973
 * MV Llangibby Castle, launched 4 July 1929, maiden voyage 5 December 1929
 * RMS Britannic, launched 6 August 1929, scrapped 1960
 * RMMV Winchester Castle, launched 19 November 1929, maiden voyage 24 October 1930
 * MS Achimota, launched 17 December 1929, delivered 29 November 1932 as TSMV Wanganella
 * RMMV Warwick Castle, launched 29 April 1930, maiden voyage 30 January 1931, sunk by U-413 on 14 November 1942 under the command of Gustav Poel
 * RMS Georgic, launched 1931, maiden voyage 25 June 1932, scrapped 1961
 * MV Highland Patriot, completed 1932, war loss 1 October 1940
 * TS Duchess of Hamilton, completed 1932, scrapped 1974
 * MV Waipawa, completed October 1934
 * MV Wairangi, completed February 1935
 * MV Stirling Castle, launched 15 July 1935, maiden voyage 7 February 1936
 * RMMV Athlone Castle, launched 28 November 1935, maiden voyage 22 May 1936
 * MS Dunnottar Castle, launched 25 January 1936, maiden voyage 10 July 1936, later Victoria
 * RMMV Dunvegan Castle, launched 26 March 1936
 * MV Walmer Castle, launched 17 September 1936, completed 30 November 1936
 * RMMV Cape Town Castle, launched 23 September 1937, completed 31 March 1938
 * RMMV Durban Castle, launched on 14 June 1938
 * RMS Andes, launched on 7 March 1939, completed September 1939
 * RMMV Pretoria Castle, launched on 12 October 1939 (later HMS Pretoria Castle then RMMV Warwick Castle)
 * MV Empire Grace, launched on 25 August 1941, completed April 1942
 * MV British Bombardier, built as Empire Fusilier, completed as Empire Bombardier, scrapped 1959
 * MV Athelqueen, launched 24 November 1942 as Empire Benefit, later Mariverda, scrapped 1961
 * MV Empire Abercorn, launched on 30 December 1944
 * MV Durango, completed in 1944
 * MV Waiwera, completed in 1944
 * HMCS Bonaventure, launched 27 February 1945, scrapped 1971
 * SS Athenic, launched on 26 November 1946, maiden voyage 1 August 1947
 * RMS Pretoria Castle, launched on 19 August 1947 (later SS S.A. Oranje)
 * RMS Edinburgh Castle, launched on 16 October 1947
 * RMS Parthia, maiden voyage 10 April 1948. First passenger/cargo liner ordered from H+W by Cunard Line
 * RMS Magdalena, delivered 1949. Ran aground 25 April 1949 on maiden voyage near Rio de Janeiro and wrecked
 * MV Bloemfontein Castle, launched on 24 August 1949, scrapped 1989
 * SS Rhodesia Castle, launched on 5 April 1951, completed 6 October 1951
 * SS Kenya Castle, launched on 21 June 1951, later SS Amerikanis, scrapped 2001
 * SS Braemar Castle, launched on 5 April 1952
 * MV Cedric, delivered November 1952
 * MV Cretic, completed in 1953
 * SS Iberia, launched on 21 January 1954, maiden voyage 28 September 1954
 * SS Loch Gowan, completed in 1954
 * SS Southern Cross, launched on 17 August 1954, delivered 23 February 1955, scrapped 2003
 * Port Melbourne, completed in 1955
 * SS Reina Del Mar, launched on 7 June 1955, delivered April 1956, maiden voyage 3 May 1956
 * TSS Duke of Lancaster, launched 1956, landlocked as of 2013
 * SS Loch Loyal, completed 1957
 * MV Ulster Star, Launched 26 February 1959, Scrapped 1979
 * SS Manchester Miller, 1959
 * RMS Pendennis Castle, launched on 24 December 1957, maiden voyage 1 January 1959, scrapped 1980
 * RMMV Amazon, launched July 1959, maiden voyage January 1960
 * RMMV Aragon, launched on 20 October 1959, maiden voyage 29 April 1960
 * SS Canberra, launched on 16 March 1960, maiden voyage 6 June 1961, scrapped 1997
 * RMMV Arlanza, launched on 13 April 1960, maiden voyage 7 October 1960
 * MF Galloway Princess 1980, (yard no. 1713)
 * MF St Anselm, 1980 (yard no. 1715)
 * MF St Christopher, 1981 (yard no. 1716)
 * MF St David, 1981 (yard no. 1717)
 * Knock An, shuttle tanker, delivered 1996
 * Glas Dowr, FPSO conversion, delivered 1996
 * Schiehallion, newbuild FPSO, delivered 1997
 * Bideford Dolphin, semi-submersible conversion, delivered 1998
 * Borgland Dolphin, semi-submersible conversion, delivered 1999
 * Glomar CR Luigs, newbuild dynamically positioned drillship, delivered 2000
 * Glomar Jack Ryan, newbuild dynamically positioned drillship, delivered 2000
 * Oil tankers
 * British Destiny, British Tanker Company, 1937
 * British Fidelity, British Tanker Company, 1938
 * British Integrity, British Tanker Company, 1937
 * British Merit, British Tanker Company, 1942
 * British Might, British Tanker Company, 1945
 * British Patience, British Tanker Company, 1943
 * British Power, British Tanker Company, 1936
 * British Security, British Tanker Company, 1937
 * British Trust, British Tanker Company, 1939
 * British Vigilance, British Tanker Company, 1942
 * Aircraft Carriers
 * HMS Formidable (67), Illustrious-class, launched 17 August 1939, scrapped 1956
 * HMS Unicorn (I72), launched 20 November 1941, scrapped 1959
 * HMS Campania (D48), Nairana-class escort carrier, launched 17 June 1943, scrapped 1955
 * HMS Glory (R62), Colossus-class, launched 27 November 1943, scrapped 1961
 * HMS Warrior (R31), later HMCS Warrior and ARA Independencia , Colossus-class, launched 20 May 1944, scrapped 1971
 * HMS Hercules (R49), later INS Vikrant Majestic-class, completion & modifications 1957–61, museum ship since 1997
 * HMS Eagle (R05), Audacious-class launched 19 March 1946, scrapped 1978
 * HMCS Magnificent (CVL 21)  Royal Canadian Navy, Majestic-class, launched 16 November 1944, scrapped 1965
 * HMCS Bonaventure (CVL 22)  Royal Canadian Navy, Majestic-class, launched 27 February 1945, scrapped 1971
 * HMS Centaur (R06), Centaur-class, launched 22 April 1947, scrapped 1973
 * HMS Bulwark (R08), Centaur-class, launched 22 June 1948, scrapped 1981
 * Monitors
 * HMS Abercrombie, Abercrombie-class, launched 15 April 1915, scrapped 1927
 * Cruisers
 * HMS Penelope (97), Arethusa-class cruiser, launched 15 October 1935, sunk 18 February 1944
 * HMS Belfast, Town-class, launched 17 March 1938, decommissioned 24 August 1963, museum ship since 31 October 1971
 * HMS Black Prince, later HMNZS Black Prince, Dido-class, launched 27 August 1942, scrapped 1962 Osaka, Japan
 * HMS Ontario, later HMCS Ontario,  Royal Canadian Navy, Minotaur-class cruiser, launched 29 July 1943, scrapped 1960 Osaka, Japan
 * Frigates
 * HMS Blackpool, later HMNZS Blackpool, Whitby-class launched 14 February 1957, scrapped 1978
 * HMNZS Waikato  Royal New Zealand Navy, Leander-class, commissioned 1966, Sunk as artificial reef 2000, Bay of Islands, New Zealand
 * Corvettes
 * HMS Gentian, Flower-class, launched 6 August 1940, scrapped 1947
 * HMS Anchusa, Flower-class, launched 15 January 1941, scrapped 1960
 * HMS Bergamot, Flower-class, launched 15 February 1941, scrapped 1974
 * Landing ship, tank
 * HMS Boxer, launched 12 December 1942, scrapped 1958
 * Submarine depot ship
 * HMS Adamant, launched 30 November 1940, scrapped 1970
 * Landing platform dock
 * HMS Fearless, launched 1963, commissioned 1965, served in Falklands War 1982, scrapped Belgium 2007
 * Fleet auxiliary ships
 * RFA Black Ranger, launched 22 August 1940, scrapped 1979
 * RFA Brown Ranger, launched 12 December 1940, scrapped 1975
 * RFA Fort Victoria, launched 4 May 1990

See also: Category:Ships built in Belfast