Isles yard secures first contract under new owners

An additional 30 workers will be needed at Arnish to complete the contract

Arnish fabrication yard in Lewis has won its first major contract under its new Spanish owners.

The site will manufacture subsea structures for use in Trinidad and Tobago in the Caribbean.

The yard near Stornoway employs about 140 people and an additional 30 workers will be needed to complete the year-long contract.

Arnish along with a yard in Methil in Fife were taken over by Spain's state-owned shipbuilder Navantia in December following a buy-out of Belfast-based Harland & Wolff.

Arnish near Stornoway was founded in 1974 with backing from Norwegian company Olsen's.

Contracts in the early days included constructing a large barge.

The yard was also later used for repurposing rigs for the North Sea oil and gas industry.

It was owned by BiFab before being taken over by Harland & Wolff.