Workers finished their shift at Harland & Wolff last night and stepped out into the pouring rain. The shipyard workers' mood perfectly matched the miserable weather as one by one they came through the screeching metal turnstiles.
Having been served with 90-day protective redundancy notices on Wednesday night, many said they felt completely demoralised.
Mark, who works in administration, said the longer the saga dragged on, the more depressed people got.
"But there is still a bit of hope as well. We understand that Cunard would be very happy with our design." Many felt let down by the British government.
Mr Dennis MacKenzie, a welder, said he was disappointed with the union's performance. "We are paying our union dues every year, and yet when it comes down to it, they are keeping us in the dark."
Paul, a welder from Manchester who works as a subcontractor at H&W, said he was surprised at the normality inside the yard. "I think they have had a few closure scares before and are just waiting to see what's going to happen."
Many of the workers said they were disgusted at a poll carried out in west Belfast, a largely Catholic area, earlier in the day in which locals expressed delight at the yard's possible closure.
Some of the sentiments expressed were: "I hope it closes. There isn't anyone from around here employed there, so maybe it would give them a sample of what the people in west Belfast have had to put up with for years."
But last night, workers insisted that things had changed dramatically since the days in which H&W employed Protestants almost exclusively.
"I feel sad that people in west Belfast would feel that way, but I guess it is hard to change attitudes. They don't realise that there are plenty of Catholics working here now," said Dan, a naval architect.
The MP for the area, the DUP's Mr Peter Robinson, said he was appalled by the views expressed in west Belfast, which were evidence of "acute sectarianism".