BELFAST/LONDON: August 05, 2019. Harland & Wolff, the iconic Northern Ireland shipbuilding and repair company founded in 1861 and builder of the RMS Titanic, is now in Administration.

Owned by Jersey-based Dolphin Drilling Holdings, the company, which has specialised in supporting the offshore wind energy sector, was hoping to build two Royal Navy frigates but failed to acquire the necessary bridging loan.

In its heyday, the shipyard employed 35,000 people. As it filed for Administration, that number had fallen to less than 130.

Recording the lives of men and women who build and sail ships, the Royal Society of Marine Artists (RSMA) Annual Exhibition opens on October 10 at the Mall Galleries in Central London. More information is available from www.mallgalleries.org.uk

The annual exhibition will feature some 400 works by RSMA members and entry for two is free if you quote Freightweek at the gallery desk. The normal price is £8.00.

The Tony Williams ARSMA painting (pictured) shows the making of the Amber Pacific, a bulk carrier launched at the North Sands shipyard, Sunderland on July 16,1969. It is part of a series of paintings Williams is currently working on, celebrating the working lives of shipbuilders, miners and steelworkers, evoking the atmosphere of industry during the pre- and post-war years.

He depicts the harsh working conditions which led to a great camaraderie amongst these men whom the artist now sees as a corporate host of ghosts, walking or cycling with the ever-present cigarette and dwarfed by the monolithic vastness of ships and winding gear. A number of paintings from this series will be on display.

All works in the exhibition are for sale.

The RSMA is widely recognised as the focal point for much of Britain's finest contemporary marine art and many of the country's leading marine artists are elected members of the Society. Subjects range from deep water shipping to coastal scenes, competitive sailing to quiet harbours, marine wildlife to still-life.