New Resurgent Hall opens at Belfast shipyard for naval support ship programme

Navantia UK opened Resurgent Hall at Belfast’s Harland & Wolff shipyard on Monday 2 November, providing extra production space for work on three Royal Fleet Auxiliary support ships. The facility is the centrepiece of almost £100 million being invested in the Belfast yard.

Luke Pollard, the UK’s Minister for Defence Readiness and Industry, opened the hall. Its extension adds 5,000 square metres of fabrication space, with robotic plasma-cutting equipment, refurbished cranes and a new mechanised panel line designed to improve the accuracy and efficiency of ship-section production.

As well as supporting the Fleet Solid Support programme, the hall is intended to help Belfast compete for further naval and commercial contracts.

Belfast’s role in building the ships

Belfast will carry out major fabrication, assemble the vessels, integrate their systems and undertake testing. Navantia UK’s Appledore yard is building the bow sections for all three ships.

Production began with steel cutting at Appledore in December 2025. The first vessel, RFA Resurgent, reached its keel-laying milestone in September 2026. All three ships are due to enter service in the early 2030s.

Navantia UK chief executive Donato Martínez said the company aimed to secure more Ministry of Defence projects for Belfast beyond the support ship programme.

Investment across four yards

The Belfast spending forms part of a £157 million modernisation programme covering Navantia UK’s four sites in Northern Ireland, Scotland and Devon. The company raised its investment commitment from £115 million after acquiring the former Harland & Wolff facilities in Belfast, Appledore, Methil and Arnish in January 2025.

The programme includes advanced manufacturing technology and workforce development. In Belfast, work also includes a major refurbishment of the Samson and Goliath cranes to support naval and commercial shipbuilding.