The origin of the yard goes back to Robert Stephenson & Co which had built a graving dock at its Hebburn yard. This yard was acquired by Palmer's Shipbuilding & Iron Co in 1912 and became a major shipbuilding centre until its closure in 1931. The rest of the Palmers' empire collapsed in 1933 and was sold to National Shipbuilders Securities Ltd, who closed down the yards and destroyed the shipbuilding facilities.
Vickers-Armstrong Ltd acquired the Hebburn Yard with its graving dock in 1935 and created Palmers Hebburn Co Ltd, a shiprepairing & structural steelwork company. The company prospered and continued to trade as a repair and conversion yard throughout the wartime period and also built parts of ships for other shipbuilders. It also built 3 Admiralty Floating Drydocks, 6 salvage vessels and the major parts of 5 floating cranes on its own account.
A repair yard with a single dry dock was at a distinct commercial disadvantage, so in 1960 an additional dock which was wider, deeper and longer than the original was begun. When completed in 1962 the dock was the largest on the North East coast and one of the largest in the UK.
In 1973 Vickers-Armstrongs sold the facility to Swan Hunter Shipbuilders, who developed it as the Hebburn Dock Shipbuilding Yard. Tyne Tees Dockyard Ltd acquired the yard from the receivers of Swan Hunter in 1994 and then sold it on to Cammell Laird in 1998. Cammell Laird went into receivership in 2001 and the A & P Group acquired the yard from the receivers. (info: tynebuiltships.co.uk)