Thousands saw supertanker slide majestically into the Tyne

THEY were the so-called 'supertankers' - improbably large oil-carrying vessels that came to dominate the River Tyne landscape during the late 1960s and early 1970s.

- Nostalgia editor DAVID MORTON

Thousands of skilled men worked to construct the likes of the Esso Northumbria (1969), World Unicorn (1973), Tyne Pride (1975) and others. This week 55 years ago, on April 6, 1970, another giant - the 250,000-ton Esso Hibernia - was launched on the river at Wallsend's world-famous Swan Hunter yard.

"Watched by 6,000 people" the Chronicle reported, "the Hibernia slid majestically into the Tyne at Wallsend. Seven drag anchors and 1,150 drag chains stopped her backward progress some ten yards from the Hebburn bank of the river".