Rare cine recording of the Jadran being launched in Sunderland

There’s nothing more iconic in Wearside’s past than a shipyard scene.

The giant bulk carrier Jadran begins her journey into the River Wear in 1976. Photo: North East Film Archive. | North East Film Archive

placeholder image — The giant bulk carrier Jadran begins her journey into the River Wear in 1976. Photo: North East Film Archive. | North East Film Archive

Hundreds of people would turn up when a ship was being launched and that’s exactly what happened when this poignant event went ahead.

This is a rare cine recording of the Jadran which went down the slipways at the North Sands Deptford yard of Sunderland Ship Builders in 1976.

It might be 50 years old but the footage captures the clothes, the industry and the sheer scale of the ships that were built on the Wear.

The Jadran was a bulk carrier which was more than 740 ft long and its spectacular launch has been preserved on film by the North East Film Archive.

Workers and dignitaries gather in the yard after the successful 1976 launch of the ship. Photo: North East Film Archive. | North East Film Archive

The carrier was built for shipping company Atlantska Plovidba, Dubrovnik, (then Yugoslavia).

The footage shows workers gathering around the ship, and some of the crew peering down from the deck.

A photo which gives an indication of the size of the giant ship soon after the launch in 1976. Photo: North East Film Archive. | North East Film Archive

The clip is a small portion of a much bigger film which can be found on the North East Film Archive website.

Dignitaries, workers and representatives of the ship’s sponsor mingle at the Deptford yard. Photo: North East Film Archive. | North East Film Archive

Our thanks go to the excellent North East Film Archive library which has a vast collection of memories on film from the North East and Yorkshire’s history,

Its team has painstakingly taken on the task of preserving, cataloguing, and digitising these vital collections of reminders of our past.

NEFA officials have previously shared clips of fun at the Seaburn fairground in 1966 and former centre forward Brian Clough in one of his last matches for Sunderland before the injury which put paid to his playing career.

NEFA has a huge catalogue of over 70,000 items of original film, video tape, and born-digital material. Its team painstakingly preserves, catalogues, and digitises these vital collections of reminders of our past.

NEFA operates the The Yorkshire Film Archive in York, and the North East Film Archive, in Middlesbrough. It also has a new rental platform which is available at https://yfanefa.vhx.tv/

If you have cine film memories of Sunderland and County Durham as it looked in years gone by, we would love to hear from you. Email [email protected] and tell us more.