At its apex, the company represented the combined forces of three powerful shipbuilding families: Swan, Hunter and Wigham Richardson.

[4] Their bid was successful, and the new company, Swan Hunter and Wigham Richardson Ltd, went on to build what was to become, in its day, the most famous oceangoing liner in the world.

[17] In 2001, Swan Hunter acquired Kværner's Port Clarence offshore yard at Teesside[18] but then in 2006 sold it to Wilton Engineering Group.

[19] In November 2006, after the failure to complete Lyme Bay within budget and resulting exclusion from future Royal Navy shipbuilding projects, Jaap Kroese announced that the business was effectively finished and placed the Wallsend Yard's iconic cranes up for sale.

In April 2007, Swan Hunter's cranes, along with its floating dock and other equipment, were sold to Bharati Shipyards, India's second-largest private-sector shipbuilder.

The entire plant machinery and equipment from Swan Hunter was dismantled and transported to India over six months to be rebuilt at Bharati Shipyards.

[21] Swan's performed the conceptual design of Pioneering Spirit, provisionally named Pieter Schelte, the world's largest platform installation/decommissioning and pipelay vessel.

Swan Hunter started to offer specialist equipment, design, engineering & project management services to the offshore renewables and subsea oil & gas energy markets.

[27] Swan Hunter announced loading tower readiness on 5 May 2017[28] with completion of mobilisation onto EMAS Chiyoda Subsea's multi-lay vessel 'Lewek Constellation' shortly thereafter.