Sunderland Docks is an area of Sunderland, Tyne and Wear, England. Home to the Port of Sunderland, the docks have access to the North Sea. Sunderland City Council took over the port in 1972 and since then deindustrialisation has caused the port to decline.[1]

Sunderland Docks in 1969.

History

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Sunderland Dock Act 1846
Act of Parliament
 
Long titleAn Act for constructing a Wet Dock and other Works on the South Side of the River Wear at Sunderland-near-the-Sea in the County Palatine of Durham.
Citation9 & 10 Vict. c. xiii
Dates
Royal assent14 May 1846
Other legislation
Repealed bySunderland Dock Act 1855
Status: Repealed

The Sunderland Dock Company was formed by the Sunderland Dock Act 1846 (9 & 10 Vict. c. xiii) and was chaired by Sunderland's Member of Parliament George Hudson MP.[1]

On 27 July 2018, a man was killed in an explosion at the docks.[2] A spokesman for Northumbria Police said that "The police were made aware that a man had died in a suspected industrial accident on Prospect Row, at Sunderland Docks.[3] The man was named as dock worker Brendan Eccles, a 61-year-old grandfather from Billingham.[4][5][6] In 2019, the incident was investigated and examined by Sunderland City Council who produced a review into health and safety issues.[7]

In 2020, a Greenpeace ship staged a protest off the coast of the docks.[8]

Politics

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Sunderland Docks is part of the Sunderland Central parliamentary constituency.

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In 2021, scenes for the TV series Vera was filmed at the port.[9]

References

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  1. ^ a b "Engineering Timelines - Sunderland South Docks". www.engineering-timelines.com. Archived from the original on 22 September 2020. Retrieved 6 March 2020.
  2. ^ Blackburne, Elaine (31 July 2018). "Billingham man dies after industrial accident at Sunderland Docks". gazettelive. Retrieved 30 March 2020.
  3. ^ "Man dies following 'explosion' at Sunderland docks". www.sunderlandecho.com. Retrieved 30 March 2020.
  4. ^ Collings, Katie (31 July 2018). "Family speak of agony after man died in industrial accident at docks". nechronicle. Retrieved 30 March 2020.
  5. ^ Harrison, James (16 September 2019). "Deaths, falls and assaults among catalogue of heath and safety concerns". nechronicle. Retrieved 30 March 2020.
  6. ^ "Inquest adjourned into death of grandad in port '˜explosion'". www.hartlepoolmail.co.uk. Retrieved 30 March 2020.
  7. ^ "Death of dock worker at Port of Sunderland among cases to be examined by council chiefs". www.sunderlandecho.com. Retrieved 30 March 2020.
  8. ^ Cassidy, Maria (28 September 2020). "Greenpeace ship spotted in Sunderland as activists build underwater barrier". ChronicleLive. Retrieved 21 May 2021.
  9. ^ Graham, Hannah (2 May 2021). "Vera film crew spotted near the docks at Port of Sunderland". ChronicleLive. Retrieved 21 May 2021.

54°54′29″N 1°21′36″W / 54.908°N 1.360°W / 54.908; -1.360