Welding support
May 1st 2004

When the Wallsend yard of Swan Hunter closed in 1994, it appeared to be the end of shipbuilding on the Tyne. The yard stood empty for a few years, before it was bought by Jaap Kroese.

It carried out a few small offshore related contracts before being awarded a 200m contract by Allseas BV to complete conversion of a bulk carrier into a pipelay vessel.

ESAB worked closely with the yards welding department, with the result that its consumables were used almost exclusively.

When the yard returned to Naval shipbuilding in 2001, ESAB was directly involved in qualification of a complete suite of new welding procedures for heavy plate fabrication and assembly of ring sections carried out at the yard.

Both Wallsend yard and Swan Hunters new Port Clarence yard have been equipped with new welding sets, with 92 ESAB and Murex mig sets installed since 1996, along with A6 tractor units and a refurb-ished ESAB equipped panel line at the Wallsend yard.

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