A new BBC series will shine a light on the people people who ensure everything runs ship-shape at one of the UK’s busiest ports.
Belfast Harbour: Cruises, Cranes and Cargo returns to our TV screen next week for a new four-part series, with unprecedented access to those working in this non-stop world.
For more than 400 years, Belfast Harbour has been central to the development of the city and it handles more than 70% of Northern Ireland’s seaborne trade.
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Even during the challenges of the past couple of years, for the thousands of people who work there, the harbour has continued to operate 24/7.
Across the four episodes, a shipping accident 4,000 miles away impacts the harbour’s container terminal, with staff ready to swing into action with brand new state-of-the-art cranes to tackle the backlog.
Over at the old Pumphouse – from where the Titanic was launched – engineer John McClory is hard at work testing a 100-year-old crane.
Hoping to shed light on the amount of rubbish in Belfast’s waters is Citizen Sea, Northern Ireland's first boat-based environmental charity, who set sail from Bangor and work their way up to Belfast Harbour collecting litter as they go.
The series also follows the return to normality of Belfast’s SSE Arena, following its stint as a Covid-19 Vaccination Centre, as the Belfast Giants return to the ice for the first time in 18 months.
Meanwhile, Belfast Harbour Police will oversee the arrival of a new fully equipped police boat, which is quickly called into action to help out at the Maritime Weekender Festival.
The documentary also looks at the return of cruise ships to the harbour for the first time in 15 months, which brings some first-time visitors to Belfast.
Belfast Harbour: Cruises, Cranes and Cargo is made by Alleycats TV and starts on BBC Northern Ireland on Tuesday 8 November at 10.40pm, with the complete series available on BBC iPlayer.
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