Resurgent Hall is the centrepiece of around £100 million being invested in Belfast since Navantia acquired the shipyard in January 2025. The ministry said the expanded facility would support more than 900 skilled jobs and apprenticeships in the city.
The hall adds 5,000 square metres of fabrication space, with robotic plasma-cutting equipment, cranes and a mechanised panel line intended to improve production efficiency and accuracy. Navantia UK is also refurbishing the Samson and Goliath cranes to support naval and commercial construction.
“The opening of the Resurgent Fabrication Hall is a clear sign that growth in UK shipbuilding is happening right now, in Belfast,” said Keith Bethell, NAD Group Maritime Director. “This investment is renewing our industrial capability, creating skilled jobs and apprenticeships, and strengthening the supply chains that underpin our national resilience.”
Belfast will carry out major fabrication, final assembly, systems integration and testing of RFA Resurgent, RFA Reliant and RFA Resourceful. The company’s Appledore yard is constructing the bow sections of all three ships.
Steel cutting began at Appledore in December 2025, followed by the keel laying for RFA Resurgent in September 2026. Once in service, the vessels will replenish Royal Navy ships and carrier strike groups with ammunition, supplies and provisions at sea.
“Belfast is at the heart of that revival, and the Fleet Solid Support programme is the first of many projects we aim to deliver here for the Ministry of Defence,” said Donato Martínez, CEO of Navantia UK. The company intends to use the upgraded facilities to compete for further naval and commercial contracts.
The Belfast investment forms part of a £157 million programme across Navantia UK’s sites in Belfast, Appledore, Methil and Arnish, increased from an earlier £115 million commitment. Across those operations, the company supports more than 1,300 jobs and over 340 apprentices, with an ambition to support 750 apprentices by 2030.
“Navantia’s £157 million investment across its UK yards shows what sustained investment in shipbuilding delivers: good jobs, growing skills, and the support ships our Navy needs,” said Defence Readiness and Industry Minister Luke Pollard. He opened Resurgent Hall on 2 November.
The opening follows a 63% real-terms increase in Ministry of Defence investment in Northern Ireland’s defence sector to £464 million in 2025/26, the highest level since records began. The ministry said that amounted to £240 per resident.
“Navantia is building on Belfast’s historic shipbuilding legacy while supporting hundreds of skilled jobs and apprenticeships, ensuring that it remains at the heart of the UK’s defence industry while boosting economic growth,” said Northern Ireland Minister Sarah Owen. The ministry said UK naval shipbuilding was supported by the Defence Investment Plan, which commits £298 billion of defence investment over the next four years.
