Building dock at, Harland And Wolff, Queen's Island, Belfast, BT3 9DU

This is an extremely large dry dock, constructed in 1969 as part of a redevelopment programme at the Harland and Wolff shipyard on Queen’s Island, Belfast. The dry dock measures 560 x 90 x 10 metres in depth and remains the largest of its kind in the UK. It features two sets of sea doors, and a second, ‘portable’ set can be used to divide the dock into two chambers allowing for two separate projects to be undertaken simultaneously.

Harland and Wolff was established in 1861 and grew to become 'Shipbuilders to the World' by the mid-20th century, employing around 65,000 people. Facing changing shipbuilding trends in the late 20th century, the company undertook redevelopment including the construction of this dry dock alongside two large bridge cranes designed and built by the German engineering company Krupp. The dry dock was designed to be used in conjunction with these cranes; Goliath was built in 1969 and Samson in 1972. The dry dock is of significant industrial archaeological interest. It is protected through scheduling.