The troubled Belfast shipyard Harland & Wolff could be about to secure a multi-million pound contract to build four ferries for a Norwegian company.
Management would only confirm yesterday that it was "in an advanced stage of negotiations" on several potential contracts but would not comment on the details of the ferry deal.
A formal announcement is not expected until later next week. The four passenger ferries are reported to be worth £100 million sterling (€171 million) each.
If signed, the contract could secure H&W's future for the next three years. The yard's order book is empty once it completes an oil drill ship destined for the US company Global Marine later this year.
Last month, H&W's 1,800 workers were put on 90-day protective redundancy notices.
Hopes of securing the contract to build the £450 million Queen Mary II cruise-ship were dashed several weeks ago when Cunard awarded the order to a French shipyard. Since then, H&W has pinned its hopes on several British Ministry of Defence contracts for six roll-on roll-off ferries and several Royal Navy frigates, but so far no decisions on awarding the orders have been forthcoming from the British government.
If H&W secures the Norwegian contract, it will again need British government grants and loans to finance the construction of the vessels. According to sources close to H&W, the yard's management will also hope for a flexible approach by the workforce and unions with a mere "no-strike" agreement probably proving unsatisfactory to its Norwegian customers.
Last week, H&W released details of an internal restructuring scheme the full extent of which will be put to the company's annual meeting on May 15th. Its financial results, published on Good Friday, showed a fall in pre-tax profits from £5.1 million to zero, with operating losses of £1 million.
Local politicians yesterday were hopeful but cautious about commenting on the ferry deal. Ulster Unionist MP, Mr Jeffrey Donaldson, said: "If this order comes through it is great news. It will help safeguard many jobs and we would then want to build on that solid base and go after the MoD work to really turn the shipyard around."
