Harland & Wolff has issued a bleak warning that further job cuts are likely at the Belfast shipyard unless it urgently secures new contracts. Mr Brynjulv Mugass, the chief executive of Harland & Wolff, yesterday confirmed the company had officially written to trade unions in the North to invite them to enter preliminary consultations about the shipyard's future.

Harland & Wolff admitted it had had no success in securing new shipbuilding orders in recent months and said the downturn in the sector had been exacerbated by the terrorist attacks on the United States.

The company said it only has sufficient work until next May for its current workforce of 600 people.