Titanic shipyard sinks into administration

Administrators have been appointed to the Harland and Wolff shipyard in Belfast where the Titanic was built, putting the future of 123 workers in doubt. It employed more than 30,000 people at its peak and is closely associated with the city’s industrial past. Accountancy firm BDO has been appointed as administrator and the company will file for insolvency today, a spokesman for Harland and Wolff said. The shipyard’s Norwegian owners had been seeking to sell the business but failed to find a suitable buyer. BDO had been advising the company on its failed efforts to sell the business. Unite, the union representing the shipyard workers, called on the Government to save the shipyard by placing it into the hands of the official receiver and underwriting the business.