13 June 2023

RNS Reach

Harland & Wolff Group Holdings plc

("Harland & Wolff" or the "Company")

Consortium to design green tugs for the UK & Export market

Harland & Wolff Group Holdings plc (AIM: HARL), the UK quoted company focused on strategic infrastructure projects and physical asset lifecycle management, is pleased to announce that as part of its continued business development, it has entered into Heads of Terms with Macduff Shipyards Limited ("Macduff"), Kongsberg Maritime Limited ("Kongsberg") and Echandia AB ("Echandia").

The four parties will come together to create a UK consortium with a common vision to develop and build a zero emissions harbour and coastal tug.  The envisaged tug will be 25.5m long, have a breadth of 12m, and a draught of 4.85m along with an impressive bollard pull for its size at 50 tonnes. The proposed tug is expected to have Azimuth stern drives and a series of modular battery banks.  The consortium will consist of Harland & Wolff as project lead and builders, Macduff Ship Design as designers, Kongsberg for propulsion and vessel control systems and Echandia as battery and electrical control systems specialists. This consortium has been put together to bring the very best technologies and skills required to deliver this pioneering green design.

The consortium will utilise innovative design combined with proven battery and propulsion technologies with the aim to deliver a zero-emissions vessel that will utilise electric propulsion from stored battery power for day-to-day operations, backed up by generators driven by biofuel for exceptional operations or when shore charging support is unavailable. 

The consortium believes there is a significant number of such vessels of smaller and larger designs and capabilities that will be required in the coming decade. Additionally, the technologies deployed are scalable to enter into the CTV and SOV markets in due course. This development is not altering the Company's current forecasts but the Board believes that being part of this consortium demonstrates the standing that the Company has in the market and represents a significant opportunity for the future.

John Wood, Group Chief Executive Officer, Harland & Wolff comments: "As part of our ongoing commitment to fully embrace the UK National Shipbuilding Office's aims and in our drive to Net Zero, we are pleased to have put together this consortium.  Not only are these the first vessels of this type to be designed and constructed in the UK, but they also provide firm foundations for the build of various vessels requiring this type of technology in the future.  We are delighted by the initial feedback that we have received from potential clients and look forward to seeing these vessels come to life in our shipyards."

About Harland & Wolff

Harland & Wolff is a multisite fabrication company, operating in the maritime and offshore industry through five markets: commercial, cruise and ferry, defence, energy and renewables and six services: technical services, fabrication and construction, decommissioning, repair and maintenance, in-service support and conversion.

Its Belfast yard is one of Europe's largest heavy engineering facilities, with deep water access, two of Europe's largest drydocks, ample quayside and vast fabrication halls. As a result of the acquisition of Harland & Wolff (Appledore) in August 2020, the company has been able to capitalise on opportunities at both ends of the ship-repair and shipbuilding markets where there will be significant demand.

In February 2021, the company acquired the assets of two Scottish-based yards along the east and west coasts. Now known as Harland & Wolff (Methil) and Harland & Wolff (Arnish), these facilities will focus on fabrication work within the renewables, energy and defence sectors.

In addition to Harland & Wolff, it owns the Islandmagee gas storage project, which is expected to provide 25% of the UK's natural gas storage capacity and to benefit the Northern Irish economy as a whole when completed.

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