Harland and Wolff
Harland & Wolff Ltd.. is a shipyard with headquarters in Belfast, Northern Ireland. The yard was during the heyday of steamship line (english ocean liner ) one of the most important shipyards in Europe.
History
The first predecessor of the world famous shipyard was founded in 1851 by Thompson & Kirwan for building wooden ships. 1853 Robert Hickson opened a company for the construction of iron ships. 1854 took over Edward James Harland ( 1831-1895, later Sir Edward J. Harland ) from Newcastle upon Tyne (England ) management of the Hickson shipyard and in 1858 her owner.
He received financial support from Gustav Christian Schwabe, the junior partner of John Bibby, Sons & Co. Ltd.. , Liverpool. This placed the order for an initial three large ships ( 1859 Venetian, Sicilian 1860, Syrian 1860) to EJ Harland. To cope with the repeat business from a total of fifteen other sailing steamers ( Grecian, Italian, Egyptian, Dalmatian, Arabian etc. ) occurred on 1 January 1862, the German -born engineer Gustav Wolff, nephew of Gustav Christian Schwabe, officially as a partner in the firm and thereby established the shipyard Harland & Wolff Ltd.
Gustav Christian Schwabe, it was he who brought Thomas Henry Ismay, founder of the White Star Line to order the ships for its cruise line at Harland & Wolff. Therefore, a very fruitful partnership was born. The rise of the shipyard was closely related to the White Star Line. Although there were no between the two partners in writing for contractual provisions to Harland & Wolff built for any direct White Star competitors and the shipping company ordered new buildings themselves exclusively with the Northern Irishman. The most famous ships of the White Star Line, which was built on the slipway by the yard, was the Olympic class with the Titanic and her two sister ships RMS Olympic and HMHS Britannic.
In the following years, similar partnerships built on with others, then large and successful, British shipping companies. The Royal Mail Line, Pacific Steam Navigation Company, P & O Lines, Union - Castle Line, Bibby Line or Shaw, Savill & Albion Steamship Co. ordered only or most of their new construction at Harland & Wolff. Foreign shipping companies, such as the Holland- America Line, were among the most loyal customers. In order to handle the flood of contracts, even a branch operation was opened in Scottish Govan.
Harland & Wolff also constantly completed orders for the British Navy, the Royal Navy. During the two world wars, countless of the many types emerged from the shipyard of standard freighters.
In the 1960s and 1970s, the economic problems for the shipyard began. In many Western countries there was a yard crisis. Aircraft, containers, the disintegration of the Empire and other factors caused a crisis in the British shipping. Many shipping companies gave up because they wanted to lose their regular services or not convert their fleets to the container or could. Harland & Wolff in 1977, incorporated in the British Shipbuilders Corporation in 1983 and re-privatized.
The shipyard survived all this; their experience in the construction of luxury liners they can no longer bring in new buildings since then. Main business today is the repair and overhaul of ships, and occasionally new building for civil client or the Royal Navy. Harland & Wolff also led to the famous Ha'penny Bridge in Dublin renovations, which were honored in 2003 with the Europa Nostra award for conservation work on valuable cultural assets.