Navantia UK is a new force in British industry, supporting the UK’s defence, energy and maritime ambitions.
Established in 2022 and expanded through the 2025 acquisition of Harland & Wolff, we employ more than 1,200 people and are investing over £157 million to modernise our facilities.
We are building the Fleet Solid Support ships for the Royal Fleet Auxiliary as prime contractor, fabricating for the offshore energy sector, and helping to regenerate shipbuilding communities across England, Scotland and Northern Ireland.
We are part of Navantia, one of the world’s leading naval technology companies with over 300 years of shipbuilding heritage. That gives our customers the assurance of proven delivery and global engineering expertise, built on British industrial roots that stretch back to 1855.
Our Team
Navantia UK employs more than 1,200 people across our yards in Appledore, Arnish, Belfast and Methil, with programme, engineering and corporate teams based in Bristol and London.
Our workforce covers every discipline needed to deliver complex programmes for defence, energy and commercial customers. That means platers, welders, pipefitters, electricians and outfitters, whether they are building ships, fabricating blocks or producing heavy steel structures for the offshore energy sector. Behind them sit naval architects, design and digital engineers, planners, and the commercial, procurement and programme teams that keep those projects on schedule.
Many of our people are time-served tradespeople whose skills have been built over decades in these yards, and their experience is now matched with new capability in digital engineering, from 3D design and digital twins to robotic welding and real-time production monitoring, as we transform our facilities into some of the most advanced in Europe.
We invest in our people at every stage of their careers, from apprenticeships and trade training through to management and leadership development.
Executive Committee
Our Executive Committee brings together experience from industrial sectors, providing strategic leadership for Navantia UK. The team is responsible for growth, operational performance and delivery across our sites in Appledore, Arnish, Belfast and Methil, supporting the UK’s sovereign industrial capability and future shipbuilding ambitions.
Board of Directors
The Board of Directors is responsible for the overall leadership, strategic direction and governance of Navantia UK, ensuring the company delivers for its customers, employees and stakeholders.
Our History
From its origins in Spain’s naval history to its strategic acquisition of Harland & Wolff, Navantia UK continues to shape the future of global shipbuilding, blending tradition with technological innovation for a stronger, more resilient maritime presence.
2026 — One year on
Navantia UK’s investment across sites has risen to £157 million upgrading infrastructure, facilities and capability to strengthen sovereign industrial capability. The Fleet Solid Support programme continues to progress at pace, marked by key milestones including the completion of the ‘Seahorse’ barge and the Critical Design Review.
2025 — A new chapter for British shipbuilding
Navantia UK acquires Harland & Wolff and its four historic yards, securing over 1,000 jobs and the £1.6 billion Fleet Solid Support programme for the Royal Fleet Auxiliary. First steel is cut at Appledore in December. The FSS vessels will be the largest UK military ships built since the Queen Elizabeth class carriers.
2022 - Navantia UK established
Navantia UK is founded as a British business, bringing the group's naval design and engineering expertise into the UK's defence and energy industrial base.
2005 — The formation of Navantia
Navantia is established in Spain, consolidating a shipbuilding tradition that stretches back to the Real Arsenal de la Carraca in 1717. Today the group delivers naval platforms to allied navies worldwide, and that expertise now underpins delivery in the UK.
1974 - Arnish opens on the Isle of Lewis
The Arnish yard is established at Stornoway to fabricate for the North Sea oil and gas industry. Five decades on, it remains a specialist in complex steel fabrication for energy clients around the world.
1971 - Fabrication begins at Methil
Built on the site of the former Wellesley Colliery, the Methil yard fabricates some of the great platforms of the North Sea oil boom, including jackets for the Auk and Brent fields.
1861 - Harland & Wolff founded in Belfast
Edward Harland and Gustav Wolff establish what becomes one of the most famous names in world shipbuilding. More than 1,700 ships are built at the yard, including 175 for the Royal Navy, from wartime aircraft carriers to the landing craft of Normandy.
1855 - Shipbuilding begins at Appledore
The Richmond yard opens on the Torridge estuary in North Devon. Over 350 vessels follow, from naval patrol craft to the bow sections of the Queen Elizabeth class carriers.
Our STEADY values
Service: Work as one to support our customers and communities.
Trust: Be reliable, upright, honest, accountable and transparent.
Excellence: Pursue excellence through continuous improvement, innovation and high standards in a safe manner.
Agility: Adapt quickly and efficiently to change.
Dedication: Stay committed to our ethical standards and goals.
You: Value and empower one another as the foundation of our success.
