Kevin Blair sent me this photo to try and identify the year and of course the vessels in the river.
At Swans the Mauretania berth is there and the area where they built floating docks to the east of it.
Two ships berthed alongside this area and the outboard one is being serviced by TITAN. Could this be DOMINION MONARCH?
The East Yard is busy and it looks as though a ship with two bands on the funnel (British India?) is coming off it's berth stern first.
Over at Leslies a couple of tankers alongside, the outboard one with a hole above the engine room and the inboard one a bit more advanced, but what is that structure at the stern of the inboard one? Any thoughts Gents.

Doesn't seem to me to be the DM, Dave.
The collier heading up-river has the extra block on her stern that was fitted in the war for the DEMS gunners?
If so, that at least puts us in some sort of time frame.

Could the cargo ship at right be the Hoperange? The structure on the stern of the inboard tanker looks like the wartime uptakes used instead of a funnel to pretend she was a cargo ship. Outboard tanker looks like one of Shell's.

Certainly looks to be a match, Dave, that would place it Jan-March 1939. But sister HOPETARN followed and in the water 11/39 to 01/40 (lost 1943) so would that fit better with the idea of the disguised wartime tanker? The pass/cargo liner still puzzles me.

p.s. re the one under the floating crane, could be one of the BI pair, AMRA 4-11/38 and ASKA 4-8/39 though neither quite fits with the 2 above, maybe one came back for guaranteed work

I thought the photo could be immediately post-war. The Shell tanker has a pumproom just for'ad of the 'midships accommodation and presumably another abaft it so could be an 'A' or 'N' class - or a wartime 'Ocean' type which was based on a Shell design. Is the inboard tanker a 'Norwegian' type?

Could this be the same ship that is under TITAN in "my" photo? This photo is dated 18/08/1947 and I think the outboard vessel could be FOUCAULD.
EDIT: Just come across the original of Kevin's photo and it is dated 10/09/1947

Looks right, Dave ... now we have a date, so much the better for the rest!
Dispels an early idea that the liner at top left just might be GOTHIC, as she was launched 12/1947.
I can't see anything to match her in Vickers, SHWR or HL lists for that Period.
Maybe she is a post-war visitor for refit.

In the smaller photo, the inboard ship must be ESPERANCE BAY ex HOBSONS BAY of 1922 by Vickers, Barrow.
Centre may be HYALINA launched 06/1947
On left, stern of PORT NAPIER, completed 09/1947
On the stocks, smaller 3 hatch vessel should be MERCIAN, launched 11/1947

From another of the photos, this is the liner at Wallsend Dry Docks.


and this is a close up of the collier. Could that be a faint FF on the funnel?

Arrivals for the 10/09/1947.

Also vessels in dock at Wallsend 10/09/1947.