Shared description
The Harland and Wolff Building Dock, Belfast
The building dock in Belfast was constructed between 1968-1970 by George Wimpey & Company for the Harland and Wolff shipyard in Belfast. A massive 556 metres long by 93 metres wide, it was designed for the construction of massive crude oil tankers and bulkers. Although many ships were constructed here, including two supertankers of 172,174 tonnes (343,423 DWT), the yard was in decline by the early 1970s and the dock never really fulfilled its potential. The last ship to be constructed was the 'Anvil Point' in 2003 and the yard now specialising in ship repair and the emerging renewable energies sector, notably offshore wind turbines and tidal energy projects.
Towering above the dock are the two gantry cranes 'Samson' and 'Goliath'. Now landmarks on the Belfast skyline, the cranes were designed for the yard by the German firm Krupp. Goliath, completed in 1969 and mostly fabricated by the yard, stands at 96 metres and Samson, completed in 1974 and built entirely by Krupp, is taller at 106 metres. Both cranes have a span of 140m and have a safe working load of 840 tonnes each (though I believe were tested for 1,000 which caused the top girders to bend downwards by some 11 inches). They run on 800m of track which spans the length of the dock and each crane has 64 special anti-friction bearing mounted wheels.
Both the dock and the cranes are now protected scheduled monuments. See Link
for technical information .
Link in an informative video from the BBC.
Towering above the dock are the two gantry cranes 'Samson' and 'Goliath'. Now landmarks on the Belfast skyline, the cranes were designed for the yard by the German firm Krupp. Goliath, completed in 1969 and mostly fabricated by the yard, stands at 96 metres and Samson, completed in 1974 and built entirely by Krupp, is taller at 106 metres. Both cranes have a span of 140m and have a safe working load of 840 tonnes each (though I believe were tested for 1,000 which caused the top girders to bend downwards by some 11 inches). They run on 800m of track which spans the length of the dock and each crane has 64 special anti-friction bearing mounted wheels.
Both the dock and the cranes are now protected scheduled monuments. See Link
for technical information .Link
in an informative video from the BBC.by Rossographer
Created: Thu, 20 Jan 2011, Updated: Thu, 15 Nov 2018
273 images use this description. Preview sample shown below:
... and 248 more images.
Shared descriptions
This shared description
The 'Shared Description' text on this page is © copyright 2011 Rossographer.
Shared descriptions are specifically licensed so that contributors can reuse them on their own images, without restriction.
About shared descriptions
These Shared Descriptions are common to multiple images.
For example, you can create a generic description for an object shown in a photo, and reuse the description on all photos of the object. All descriptions are public and shared between contributors, i.e. you can reuse a description created by others, just as they can use yours.
Explore images
View images using this "The Harland and Wolff Building Dock, Belfast" Shared Description
View images mentioning the words [The Harland and Wolff Building Dock, Belfast] anywhere in text
Links for J3575
This description is located in J3575.
Other shared descriptions
Descriptions nearby
- The Titanic Walkway, Belfast
- Harland & Wolff offices, Belfast (hotel conversion)
- HMS "Caroline", Belfast
- "Oscar Wilde" shifting, Belfast
- Former Harland & Wolff gates, Belfast
- "Titanic Belfast" (originally the Titanic Signature Project)
- SS Nomadic
- Departure of the "Federtal Shimanto", Belfast 16 September 2014
- The Plater's Yard site, Titanic Quarter, Belfast
- Proposed Hamilton Dock hotel, Belfast
- The "Svanen", Harland & Wolff, Belfast
- Olympic House, Titanic Quarter, Belfast
- The Thompson Graving Dock, Belfast
- The Hamilton Dock, Belfast
- A visit to Harland and Wolff, Belfast
- Belfast Harbour
- Porsche showroom, Belfast
- Stormont Wharf, Belfast
- West Twin Wharf, Belfast
- The Cushnahan Quay, Belfast
- Belfast Harbour marina
- The King's Works, Belfast harbour
- Pilot Street and the Olympic Tower, Belfast
- Titanic Quarter (Bridge End) railway station, Belfast
Related descriptions
- The "Svanen", Harland & Wolff, Belfast
By Albert Bridge. Used on 21 images
- 'Stena Superfast VII' in dry dock, Belfast
By Rossographer. Used on 25 images
- The Plater's Yard site, Titanic Quarter, Belfast
By Albert Bridge. Used on 3 images
- Proposed Hamilton Dock hotel, Belfast
By Albert Bridge. Used on 9 images
- Harland & Wolff offices, Belfast (hotel conversion)
By Albert Bridge. Used on 39 images
- "Oscar Wilde" shifting, Belfast
By Albert Bridge. Used on 12 images
- Titanic Quarter (Bridge End) railway station, Belfast
By Albert Bridge. Used on 22 images
The above selections are automatic and approximate, it might not always select closely matching descriptions
