Once the largest cranes in the World

Samson and Goliath are the famous landmark gantry cranes that dominate the Belfast skyline. They were built by the German engineering firm Krupp located on Queen’s Island in the Harland & Wolff shipyard. Goliath was built in 1969 and stands 315 ft tall and Samson was built in 1974 and stands 348 ft. During the 1960s and 70’s Harland & Wolff was the largest shipbuilder in the world boasting 35,000 employees and a healthy order book. The announcement that these cranes were to be built during ‘The Troubles’ was an important event as inward investment was at a very low point. By the mid-1970s however, the shipbuilding industry went into a steep worldwide decline which was catastrophic for H&W. The last ship built in this yard rolled down the slipway in March 2003. The cranes are now protected under the Historic Monuments Act of Northern Ireland and will forever proudly stand adjacent to Belfast’s incredible new Titanic Quarter.