Swan Hunter (Wallsend)

Following the Geddes report in 1966, it was clear that, rather like the UK aviation industry, rationalisation in shipbuilding was also required. Between 1966 and 1969, Swan Hunter acquired the yards of Vickers (at Walker), Hawthorn Leslie (at Hebburn) and Furness (on the River Tees).

British shipbuilding in general and Swan Hunter Shipbuilders (renamed in 1969) in particular were rocked by the 1973 war in the Middle East which forced oil prices upward (reducing demand for tankers and other shipping), and were shaken by the entrance of new players into the market from the Far East. It began a steady decline for Swan Hunter which hit a cliff edge when the Receivers were called in just before HMS Richmond departed the yard on 3 Nov 1994 and the company was sold to the Dutch.

Renamed Swan Hunter (Tyneside) Ltd in 1995, it refocussed on commerical and offshore vessels but it had lost its expertise in naval shipbuilding and in dealing with the UK MoD. Its bids for RFA Largs Bay and RFA Lyme Bay proved disastrous for the company, the MoD and the RFA, due to cost overruns and schedule delays. In 2006 it sold its assets and closed its doors.