THE recent conversion of the oil tanker, the Glas Dowr, into a Floating Production, Storage, and Offloading (FPSO) vessel, marks a significant change in strategy by the Belfast shipyard Harland & Wolff, according to its managing director, Mr Per Nielsen.

"The successful completion of this contract is an important step in the establishment of the company as a key player in the FPSO market," he said.

"It moves the company from its former role as a standard shipbuilder to a major enterprise servicing the offshore oil and gas industries."

The work on the Glas Dowr involved major steelwork and the installation of sophisticated processing and offloading equipment.

"We have now begun to establish a track record which will help in the pursuit of such business," Mr Nielsen said.

"It helps if our customers leave Harland & Wolff with a positive feeling towards the company and an air of confidence in our individual and collective ability to perform to their needs and expectations."

The vessel, which has an oil storage capacity of around 650,000 barrels, and a maximum output of some 60,000 barrels a day, will be used in the North Sea oilfields, around 100 miles east of Aberdeen, working in water 90 metres deep.

The work on the Glas Dowr, and the contract to repair the Sea Empress oil tanker, severely damaged last year, when it ran aground in the oil terminal of Milford Haven, has brought the company's order book to more than £130 million over the past 12 months.

The contract for the Sea Empress was secured through the company's Norwegian owner, Mr Fred Olsen, and was won in competition with repair yards in Germany, Portugal, and Dubai.

Other contracts won by the yard include the construction of the £100 million FPSO vessel, the Schiehallion. The Belfast yard has completed around 80 per cent of its share of the contract, which is being carried out in partnership with a number of other companies including Brown and Root, and BP.

The decision to concentrate on servicing the offshore oil and gas industries was taken as the yard neared the end of its work on five Suezmax oil tankers.

There had been concern that with increasing competition from other European yards, as wdl as from South America and the Far East, the company would find shipbuilding contracts increasingly difficult to come by.

And Mr Nielsen warned that the future of the yard depended on improved productivity, and changes in working practices.

"We must be willing to comply with the flexibility in working practices which are standard in the offshore industry," he said, "such as 24 hour seven-day working, as and when the workload demands it.

"We must also increase our technical skills and expertise to cover all areas of FPSO technology. This will include building up our traditional manual skills base."

He echoed the views of many in the Northern business community when he said - that the lack of progress in the peace process could affect the future prosperity of the company.