A FABRICATION yard in the Outer Hebrides has won its first major contract since it was taken over by its new Spanish owners.
The new owners of the Isle of Lewis’s Arnish yard announced they have been awarded a significant contract by McDermott Trinidad Ltd for the manufacture of subsea structures.
The site will manufacture subsea structures for use in Trinidad and Tobago in the Caribbean.
The yard, near Stornoway, employs around 140 people and will look to employ an additional 30 workers to help complete the work needed for the year-long contract.
The Arnish yard was taken over by Spain's state-owned shipbuilder Navantia in December following a buy-out of Belfast-based Harland & Wolff along with a site in Methil in Fife to the tune of around £70 million.
Juan de la Cueva, CEO of Navantia UK, said the contract will help showcase Scotland’s “excellent” engineering industry across the world.
He said: “We are delighted to partner with McDermott Trinidad on this important project.
“By securing international work for our Arnish facility, we are not only supporting skilled jobs in the Outer Hebrides but also showcasing Scottish engineering excellence globally.
“This contract represents exactly the type of high-value manufacturing that we want to bring to our UK facilities.”
Arnish was founded in 1974 with backing from Norwegian company Olsen's.
Work at the site in the early days included constructing a large barge, but the facility was later used for repurposing rigs for the North Sea oil and gas industry.
Albert Allan, general manager of the Arnish facility, said the skilled workers at the facility will be tasked with carrying out the work.
He said: “This contract recognises our facility's track record of delivering complex subsea structures to the highest quality standards.
“Our skilled workforce has extensive experience in precision fabrication for the energy sector, and this project will enable us to further expand our team whilst reinforcing Arnish's position as a centre of excellence for critical energy infrastructure.”
