HARLAND & Wolff announced last night it had won a multi million pound contract to repair the oil tanker Sea Empress which ran aground off Milford Haven earlier this year causing massive pollution.
The yard was one of four across the world which tendered for the contract which will take until late spring next year to complete. It will involve replacement of 2,800 tonnes of steel.
A spokesman for the company said it was the largest repair job ever undertaken by Harland & Wolff. He refused to say how much the contract was worth, but said it was well in excess of £10 million.
The Belfast yard was always front runner to win the major contract as the Sea Empress was towed to their dry dock in April following the spillage for tank cleaning and an assessment of the damage to determine whether the vessel should be scrapped or repaired.
The vessel poured 72,000 tonnes of oil into the sea off the Welsh coast when it ran aground and continued to leak small amounts as it was towed across the Irish Sea to the Belfast shipyard.
