The Samson and Goliath cranes refurbishment at Belfast’s Harland & Wolff shipyard is under way, with £3.1 million earmarked to bring the two iconic yellow gantry cranes back to full working capacity. Owners Navantia UK say the work will leave the cranes at their busiest for many years.
Gantry cranes are large overhead lifting structures that run on rails and are used to move heavy loads across a yard or dock. Samson and Goliath are among the most recognisable industrial landmarks in Ireland, towering over the Belfast waterfront.
What the Samson and Goliath cranes refurbishment involves
Work has already begun on Goliath, the older of the pair. Built in 1969, Goliath stands 96 metres tall. Once that phase is complete, attention will turn to Samson, which was installed in 1974 and reaches 106 metres. Samson stands closer to the sea.
Both cranes will have their engines overhauled and their catenary cables (the lines that carry electrical power to the cranes) replaced. Engineers will also carry out structural and electrical repairs to each structure. Each crane is capable of lifting 840 tonnes, which the yard compares to the weight of four Boeing 747 jumbo jets.
Carlos Lopez Carregado, general manager at Harland & Wolff, described the cranes as ‘symbols of Belfast’. ‘We know that the city is proud of them, and this major mechanical, electrical, hydraulic and fabric maintenance project will restore them to their absolute best,’ he said.
‘We will be replacing parts, updating technology and testing them to see that they can lift at full capacity, and we will be treating them with utmost respect,’ Lopez Carregado added. ‘The cranes are sophisticated pieces of machinery capable of carrying enormous weight.’
The wider £98.5 million programme behind the work
The crane work does not stand alone. It is part of a broader £98.5 million recapitalisation of Harland & Wolff Belfast, designed to prepare the yard for naval and commercial shipbuilding. According to Defence Equipment & Support, £77 million of investment is going into shipbuilding infrastructure across Harland & Wolff yards as part of this programme.
The centrepiece of that work is a contract to build three Fleet Solid Support (FSS) ships for the Royal Fleet Auxiliary (RFA). The RFA is the civilian-crewed branch of the Royal Navy that keeps warships supplied at sea with food, ammunition and fuel. The FSS vessels will be the second largest ships in the armed forces, behind the Queen Elizabeth class aircraft carriers.
Defence Equipment & Support states that each FSS ship will carry a core RFA crew of 101, with accommodation provided for a further 80 personnel. That scale gives a sense of the lifting challenge ahead: Samson and Goliath will need to move enormous structural blocks into position as the hulls take shape.
Lopez Carregado was direct about what the refurbishment is for. ‘They will need all of their strength to lift blocks for the fleet solid support vessels, and for future ships which we anticipate building in Belfast,’ he said. ‘You can expect to see Samson and Goliath swing into action soon, they are about to be at their busiest for many years.’
The sequence of the refurbishment means Goliath returns to service first, with Samson to follow once the engineers have finished on the older crane. Both structures must be tested to confirm they can lift at full capacity before the shipbuilding programme moves into its heavier phases.
