I am currently detailing some the Swan Hunter ships built in the 1970s and come across GEROI NOVOROSSIYSKA. She was launched as INTEROCEANIC I and Swan's yard no 67.

Miramar says built at Hebburn
Lloyds Register 1980 says Hebburn Dock
Book "Built with Pride" says order transferred to Haverton Hill
George's Teesbuilt site doesn't mention her.

At 112,000dwt she was too big for Hebburn, so Hebburn Dock or Haverton Hill?????

Similar vessel (sister ship?) KYRA LYNN, completed as GEROI SEVASTOPOLYA had fore part built at Hebburn and stern at Walker yard. The same applied to YORKSHIRE completed in 1975.

Although I have INTEROCEANIC 1 down as built Hebburn, perhaps she was also built in 2 halves as above. Were they also joined afloat?

Looks like my suggestion is wrong.
Norman Middlemiss in "British Shipbuilding Yards - Vol 1" states that she was the first ship from the new Hebburn Shipbuilding Dock, the former Palmers Hebburn dock (850' x 145'), which had closed in 1970.
I know there are quite a few errors in Middlemiss's books, but this looks likely. I think she would just fit.

Thanks Mike

I believe that the KYRA LYNN and YORKSHIRE were joined in Hebburn Dock. Which does beg the quesion why were they built in two bits. Could they no longer built ships of this size complete at Walker? Was the new Hebburn Dock facility not able to complete a more complex aft end? Was it all down to workloads and timing in the schedules across the river as a whole?

So was INTEROCEANIC I another split build, fully built at Hebburn Dock or sent to the Tees?

I don't believe she was built on the Tees. I think the Hebburn Dock facility wasn't fully prepared for fitting out when YORKSHIRE & KYRA LYNN were built. I don't know about the Walker yard and whether it could no longer cope with ships of that size.

Thanks Mike, so your money is on Norman M being correct in that she was the first "complete" vessel built at Hebburn Dock. I'll go with that unless someone else can prove otherwise. I wonder where the "transfer to Haverton Hill" came from? As I said in my original note it was listed that way in "Built with Pride" and I have since also seen it on other web sites.

Both Ship 65 (Yorkshire) and Ship 66 (Kyra Lynn) were built in two parts, the fore end consisting of the fore peak and No. 1 tank in Hebburn Dock and the remainder at Walker yard. The primary reason was to allow a progressive build up of production in the then new steel preparation and fabrication shops at Hebburn Dock. The fore end was ballasted to remain on the blocks when the dock flooded and the remainder of the vessel docked with about 5,000 tonnes of ballast in No. 2 centre tank to achieve the necessary trim. The docking operation on ship 65 took about 4 hours on 18 October 1974. The following day the afterbody was seen to have settled about 1 inch due to compression of the timber packing but after removal of the ballast from No. 2 centre tank satisfactory alignment was achieved. Welding together of the two sections followed and the entire ship returned to Walker to complete outfitting. The process was repeated for Ship 66.

Ships 67 (Interoceanic / Geroi Novorossiyska) and 68 (Robkap 1 / Geroi Kerchi) were both originally allocated to Walker Yard but were constructed at Hebburn Dock and Haverton Hill respectively. Ship 67 was, therefore, the first complete ship built at Hebburn Dock. The reallocations were not related to physical limitations at Walker but more to overall load-levelling accross the various SH yards.

Excellent. Many thanks Dennis.