SNP MSP for Na h-Eileanan an Iar, Alasdair Allan, welcomed yesterday’s announcement that the fabrication yard in Arnish has secured a new external contract.

This is the yard’s first external contract since it was taken over in February of this year by Harland and Wolff Group Holdings plc. The work involves building four steel section piles for a subsea template of an energy project in the Black Sea.

Allan commented: “The Arnish yard is a hugely important economic asset for the Western Isles, and has always been renowned for the quality of its workforce as well as what it produces. After a turbulent few years it is especially reassuring to see that the yard has now been awarded a new external contract, with the view of more work being secured for the yard over the coming months to ensure its continued sustainability.”

Harland and Wolff said that “this key win validates the company’s strategy of getting its Arnish facility into a state of operational preparedness for the wider renewables sector in the UK” and that their management believes that additional deals “will flow through Arnish in the coming weeks and months”.

It is expected that the manufacturing process for the new contract will begin immediately and last around four and a half months.