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The
yard, whose huge yellow cranes tower over central Belfast,
remains one of the most potent symbols of the city's past as an
industrial engine of the British Empire.
It employed more than 30,000 in its World War Two heyday but has
been in decline for over half a century and now employs 130
full-time workers, specializing in energy and marine engineering
projects.
"There has been a series of board meetings the result of which
is that administrators will be appointed over the course of the
day," a Harland and Wolff spokesman said.
Workers last week locked themselves into the yard and refused to
leave in a bid to take control of a process they fear will
deprive them of their jobs.
A union representing workers said on Monday they would try to
block administrators from entering the site, adding the best
course of action was nationalization.
Workers gave a letter to new British Prime Minister Boris
Johnson last week calling for the state to nationalize the yard,
but a British government spokesman said its fate was a
commercial issue.
The latest move comes after Norwegian parent Dolphin Drilling
filed for bankruptcy in June.
The Norwegian administrator of Dolphin Drilling did not
immediately respond to a request for comment.
While administration would put 130 jobs at risk, it would not
necessarily lead to the closure of the shipyard, much of whose
land is on long lease from Belfast Harbour Commissioners.
(Reporting by Ian Graham; Writing by Conor Humphries; Editing by
Janet Lawrence)
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