Editing River Tyne (section)

==Port of Tyne==
{{main|Port of Tyne}}
[[File:Quiet River Tyne - geograph.org.uk - 205421.jpg|right|thumb|{{center|The River Tyne at [[Bill Quay]]}}
]]
With its proximity to surrounding [[coalfields]], the Tyne was a major route for the export of [[coal]] from the 13th century until the decline of the coal mining industry in [[North East England]] in the second half of the 20th century. The largest coal [[staithe]]s (a structure for loading coal onto ships) were located at Dunston in Gateshead, Hebburn and Tyne Dock, South Shields. The wooden staithes at Dunston, built in 1890, have been preserved, although they were partially destroyed by fire in 2006 and then a further fire in May 2020 means that the Staithes is becoming more vulnerable to vandalism and would need extensive financing to preserve it and make it secure.<ref>{{cite news | title = Coal heritage goes up in flames | quote = "The staithes is a lot more than just a lump of wood in the Tyne, it is a magnificent structure and very important to the area's industrial heritage. | publisher = BBC | date = 20 November 2003 | url = http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/england/tyne/3222530.stm | access-date = 25 August 2008}}</ref> In 2016, Tyne Dock, South Shields was still involved with coal, importing 2 million tonnes of shipments a year. The lower reaches of the Tyne were, in the late 19th and early 20th centuries, one of the world's most important centres of [[shipbuilding]], and there are still shipyards in South Shields and Hebburn to the south of the river. To support the shipbuilding and [[export]] industries of Tyneside, the lower reaches of the river were extensively remodelled during the second half of the 19th century, with islands (including [[Kings Meadow Island|Kings Meadow]], the largest) removed and meanders in the river straightened.