The Pallion Ship Factory 

Layout of Pallion Yard

The commemorative booklet issued to employees on the opening of the new Pallion complex in 1975 stated that "Not only is it a completely new yard but it is also the largest, almost totally enclosed “ship factory” in the world". The booklet went on to give a thorough description of the yard and it's facilities;-

Enclosed building berths have, of course, been used by different shipyards throughout the world but from the earliest planning stages it was decided to construct the largest practicable assembly dock surrounded, within one vast building, by almost all steel processing, sub and main assembly areas, stores, workshops and other essential services and facilities.

          There are many advantages to be gained from the admittedly higher investment in a “ship factory” some of which can be classed as:

1.            Constant working environment, eliminating the need for weather protection and the delays caused by wind, rain, ice and snow.

2.            Workmen are entitled to better working conditions without fears of being laid-off due to bad weather.

3.            Covering in the dock enables more advanced equipment and techniques to be used than that which is possible on an open building berth and is of obvious advantage from a painting point of view.

4.            The integrated nature of the layout simplifies the flow of materials to where they are needed and simplifies communication between one department or area and another.

5.            Access to stores, workshops, first aid rooms, etc. is much easier, particularly from the dock, as these places are customarily set away from building berths.

6.            The ability to have all equipment and services adjacent to where they are required saves time, effort and cost particularly on outfitting and building.

7.            The use of a dock simplifies erection from a vertical alignment point of view and eliminates the expense associated with launch-ways and launching.

A general impression of the totally-enclosed shipyard with out-fitting quay

View of assembly dock and hall with out-fitting shops (left) and production bays (right)

Ship (left) ready for float-out from assembly dock with partially constructed ship (right)

Dock flooded, dock gate in open position and almost completed ship being floated out

Ship now in final out-fitting stage at quay, partially completed hull now at out-fitting side of dock and assembly of next ship commenced.

Mainly for these reasons, the decision was taken to construct the entirely new Pallion shipyard on the site where sailing ships, steamers, warships and other classes of vessel had been built since 1857 – although not always by traditional methods. But the decision to construct this well-planned and, essentially, highly efficient shipyard was not an easy one. The concept of the new yard was well defined, the best processes and equipment in the world were analysed and specified, management and unions collaborated with mutual appreciation of the problems ahead – and yet almost any newly built or reconstructed shipyard is a compromise.

There are inevitably some restrictions in planning a new yard, particularly in the United Kingdom where shipbuilding sites tend to be confined by housing, roadways, bridges and so on. But the new Pallion yard was designed; existing berths, workshops and virtually all other facilities were demolished and work was commenced on October 1, 1973 on the construction of the most modern “ship factory” – a development of the smaller Appledore Shipyard which had proved conclusively the benefits arising from capital investment in such a “factory” – although that was constructed on a “green-field” site.

However, within the relative confines of the Pallion site a new shipbuilding complex has been developed which will be one of the most modern of its size in the world – a yard fully competitive and able to offer continuity of employment with good working conditions irrespective of the hardships of the North East Coast climate.

This is a shipyard ideally suited for series-building of cargo liners, bulk carriers and products tankers of up to some 35,000 tonnes d.w. but as the assembly dock, by conventional standards, is disproportionately wide – 50m with a length of 181m – it is suitable for the construction of specialized vessels of exceptional width / length ratio. With a dock of such dimensions two ships can be constructed in series side-by-side, as explained later. Larger sizes of ships such as Panamax size bulk carriers can be built at two other nearby yards within the Sunderland Shipbuilding Group.  

The Shipbuilding Process at Pallion Shipyard  

Steel plate and sections were brought into the plant by road and stored in the steel stockyard.  

Part of the steel stockyard with magnetic-lift travelling crane

The plates and sections were then passed from the stockyard by a roller conveyor system through a hot water plate and section washing and drying plant, then to an enclosed primer-paint spraying cabinet and a primer drying cabinet operated with a forced draught fan. Also in the steel treatment line is a horizontal shot-blasting machine for plates and sections. Entirely push-button controlled, this steel preparation system is designed to operate at speeds of up to 5m/min.

Steel plate emerging from shot-blasting and hot water washing and drying plant ready for primer painting

Bay 2

This is the plate preparation section served by an overhead magnetic crane running on gantries and capable of 10 tonne lifts, with a 3 tonne auxiliary hoist.

For profile burning there is a numerically controlled profile burning machine with two master and two slave carriages each equipped with a single burning nozzle.

There is also installed a numerically controlled shell-burning machine with four burning heads each equipped with three burning nozzles.

Steel plate being conveyed by magnetic-lift crane to burning machines

Automatic multi-head profile-burning machines

Automatic multi-head profile-burning machines

The electrically-driven 20 tonne transfer car for transporting material between Bays 2, 3 & 4 and to the assembly areas

To carry material between the preparation areas and the assembly areas, there is an electrically-driven 20 tonne transfer car operating on fixed rails.

Bay 3

This area is designed to prepare small flat bars, brackets, stiffeners and so on and is equipped with a guillotine and a 300 tonne press. At the other end is a flame-planing machine and a 600 tonne combined press / rolling machine. Serving this bay are two overhead traveling cranes, one equipped with a 10 tonne magnetic lifting beam with a 5 tonne auxiliary hook and, at the other end of the bay, a 10 tonne pendant controlled crane.

Preparation of steel section, brackets and stiffeners, burning and assembly in Bay 3

The 300 tonne flanging press in Bay 4

Transporting sections of corrugated bulkheads

Bay 4

Designated the Minor Assembly Area, the South End of this bay is designed for carrying out the first stages in fabrication – such as adding stiffener brackets etc. to girders and other structures.

         The North End of the bay is equipped for frame bending, also the preparation of main frames, longitudinals and other similar work. This bay is served by two 10 tonne pendant-controlled cranes.

The 600 tonne plate bending / rolling machine in Bay 4

Hydraulically operated frame-bending machine

Early stages in fabrication

Bay 5

Sub-assembly and panel-building operations are undertaken in an area running the full length of the West Side bay which is served by three 10 tonne semi-goliath pendant-controlled cranes.

Sub-assembly work in Bay 5 served by three 10 tonne and two 50 tonne cranes. The welding transformers in the background have automatic voltage-regulation

General view of fabrication in Bay 5, looking towards the assembly dock

The remaining area of Bay 5 is used for the main fabrication of complete steel work blocks, with detailed out-fitting. The whole of Bay 5 is served by two 50 tonne gantry-type cranes.

The special air-cushion type transporter for 200 tonne lifts for moving materials and completed block assemblies from Bay 5 to the head of the dock

Air-Cushion Transporters

Emphasis throughout the factory has been on moving materials and blocks as efficiently as possible and an example of this is the use of a special air-cushion type bogie – or a transporter mounted on air bearings.  

Of U.S. manufacture, this is used for transporting completed block assemblies from Bay 5 to the loading area at the head of the dock (Bay 6).  

By using air bearings it is possible to store two blocks in the loading area, also to reorientate units from the fabrication position to those required in the dock, a flexible and useful arrangement which would not be possible with fixed-wheel bogies.  

The transporter can carry loads of up to 200 tonnes.  

The Assembly Dock

The dock and facilities have been planned so that main steel erection is undertaken on the West side of the dock to a stage of about two-thirds completion of the ship, then the hull is floated across to the East side of the dock where steel work and out-fitting will be completed. For this reason, steel preparation and assemblies are planned on the West side of the dock, while workshops and stores associated with out-fitting are on the East side where there are also shops for maintenance, fitters, plumbers, joiners, painters, riggers, electrical installations, yard managerial offices and so on. This side of the dock also serves as a “marshalling area” for incoming equipment and products.

          The dock is served by two overhead traveling cranes each with two 40 tonne hooks and two 5 tonne auxiliary hooks; used together, these two cranes can lift blocks of up to 150 tonnes.

           A view of the assembly dock from the river

Such heavy items as engines, boilers and so on are admitted to the loading area through a large door at the head of the dock.

Two 16500 tonne d.w. cargo liners being built simultaneously; that on the right is at the outfitting side of the dock, adjacent to supervisory offices, shops for plumbers, pipework, etc., also the storerooms.

A view on the bow of a ship

As painting can be applied in a controlled environment, hull protection is much more effective

The special dock gate, designed and built by the shipyard. The depth of the dock is shown effectively in this view

A special feature of the dock is the gate closing the dock off from the River Wear. It is of the floating caisson type

Welding Techniques

In planning a completely new yard, much more freedom is given in the selection of equipment and processes; for example, there is no commitment to any particular make of unit for reasons of compatability with existing plant or because of spares considerations.

The Pallion yard is equipped entirely with remote-control transformers which are mounted on galleries clear of the floor. These units are controlled through the welders’ cables; no additional wires are needed. The benefits from this arrangement are threefold:

1.            Poor welding is frequently attributable to wrong current settings, but in some cases the welder will struggle with a high or low current or have to leave the ship to adjust his reactor. This wasted time and effort is eliminated by the new method where the operator has only to insert a small unit between his electrode and the work for a few seconds in order to adjust the current exactly to requirements.

2.            As the welding transformers are mounted on galleries they are protected from mechanical damage.

3.            By tidying the welding cables into numbered looms, there is a marked reduction in time wasted in sorting out cables.

In addition to these remote control transformers, the shipyard has also a considerable number of automatic and semi-automatic welding machines, the latter being arranged for bare wire CO2 welding and cored wire CO2 welding. The use of these processes has only been made possible because of the totally enclosed nature of the shipyard as gas-shielded welding is not suitable in draughty conditions.

Two types of equipment have been selected. For sub-assembly or shop assembly work, where the welder is usually working at ground level, Rockweld Mk 9 wire feed units are used. These are robust units, reliable and easy to maintain as they do not have either mechanical or electronic governor controls. A number will be fitted on mobile booms which have an effective welding diameter of about 30 ft. These carry the power source, wire feeder, fume extractor and if necessary, the gas cylinder, so that they are, in fact, self-contained mobile units.

For welding in the building dock slightly more sophisticated units have been selected. These are Union Carbide SWM32 wire feed units coupled to V1400 power sources with remote control. The power source voltage can be varied over the complete working range at the touch of a button on the wire feeder, giving the same advantages with semi-automatics as with conventional stick electrode welding.

Automatic submerged arc welding is used in the panel fabrication area, also for joining units during assembly in the dock.

Gravity welding machines are used for fillet welding in the panel fabrication area initially, but provision has been made to change later to miniature submerged arc tractors which operate from the AGA transformers should the amount of flat panel work increase.

In an effort to reduce the noise level of the enclosed dock area a fairing method utilizing arc welded studs is being adopted. The studs are readily removed by abrasive cutting discs.

Joinery and Pipework

Although the Pallion shipfactory is virtually self-contained the newly built pipe shop and joiners’ shop supply the needs not only of the Pallion yard but also those of the nearby Deptford and North Sands yards which are also within the Sunderland Shipbuilders Group. These shops are well equipped and the pipe shop incorporates also a machine shop and a substantial area for module assembly work.  

Head Office

Design work, finance, purchasing, estimating and other technical services are supplied to Pallion and the Group’s other two shipyards from the Palllion head office. The design team was formed some years ago by amalgamating the technical staffs of the three shipyards. Now their functions are centralised in Pallion, the design office producing basic ship designs for tendering and the subsequent development, when the orders are placed, to the construction stage. Close technical liaison is maintained with such research and scientific assistance organizations as the British Ship Research Association, Lloyd’s Register of Shipping and other classification societies, also with the National Physical Laboratory and other model test tank centres.

Head Office - Reception area

The yards within the Sunderland Shipbuilding Group have had a successful, although little publicised, record in the construction of standard series of ships – more than 100 off one hull form – but also in specialised classes of heavy-lift ships, tankers, OBO carriers and so on. Such designs were developed in co-operation with shipowners’ technical departments but this accumulated expertise on a wide range of ships is now available for the development of new design projects to meet the constantly changing requirements of the shipping industries. Maximum use is made of information banked in computers and used to ensure that the completed ship will operate efficiently and meet current international standards.

The Technical Offices

The new Pallion technical building

Following completion of studies and design, the working drawings and material requisitions are prepared in the new Technical Office Block situated between the Pallion ship factory and the Main Office Building .

The Britship system of preparing data for hull steel production, introduced by the British Shipbuilding Research Association, to supersede the conventional, manual lofting methods, is employed by the Group. Work covered by this system includes the fairing of the hull by computer techniques and storage of the resultant data for eventual production of control tapes for the numerically controlled burning machines; these tapes are developed by the Group Parts Programming Department and the B.S.R.A. computer division.

As the schedules involved in building ships side-by-side are particularly exacting, the technical services department also undertakes the calculations relating to the flooding of the dock for floating out and floating across hulls at the appropriate stages of construction.

The Design Office

Other Facilities

The canteen facilities were of the highest standard and serviced up excellent food quickly and efficiently.

Canteen Facilities were good as was the food

The Kitchen area

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Stories and photos from employees and their families are needed for this website

  Contact me at;- jbne17514@blueyonder.co.uk