ST Cervia (1946 Tugboat)
Encyclopedia
ST Cervia was built in 1946 as a sea going tug for use as a fleet auxiliary by Alexandra Hall & Company Ltd of Aberdeen
Aberdeen
Aberdeen is Scotland's third most populous city, one of Scotland's 32 local government council areas and the United Kingdom's 25th most populous city, with an official population estimate of ....
, Scotland
Scotland
Scotland is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. Occupying the northern third of the island of Great Britain, it shares a border with England to the south and is bounded by the North Sea to the east, the Atlantic Ocean to the north and west, and the North Channel and Irish Sea to the...
. Today she is a floating Museum still undergoing restoration in Ramsgate
Ramsgate
Ramsgate is a seaside town in the district of Thanet in east Kent, England. It was one of the great English seaside towns of the 19th century and is a member of the ancient confederation of Cinque Ports. It has a population of around 40,000. Ramsgate's main attraction is its coastline and its main...
, Kent
Kent
Kent is a county in southeast England, and is one of the home counties. It borders East Sussex, Surrey and Greater London and has a defined boundary with Essex in the middle of the Thames Estuary. The ceremonial county boundaries of Kent include the shire county of Kent and the unitary borough of...
.
Design and construction
The Cervia design closely followed an early designed steam tug class called Foremost which had been conceived in 1923. The reasoning behind the recycling of this old design was due to Britain’s need to quickly replace losses, and because of the government’s rapid rebuilding programme. Using the best of pre-war tried and tested tug designs would avoid the need for new designs, and get round any delays to the Admiralties rebuild plans. Empire Raymond, as the Cervia was originally named, was part of the revised building programme ordered for Operation Overlord, the invasion of Europe on D-Day. In the event she was not completed until after the end of the Second World War. The tug was finished with many of the design features intended for the invasion. She had an armoured wheelhouse and gun emplacements installed. She weighed over 350 tons and was powered by a 1000 hp triple expansion steam engine. Her boiler had been installed with oil burners but the design allowed for rapidly reverted to coal firing. All the ships that were ordered by the British government during the War period were given the prefix EmpireEmpire ship
The Empire ships were a series of ships in the service of the British Government. Their names were all prefixed with "Empire". Mostly they were used during World War II by the Ministry of War Transport , who owned the ships but contracted out their management to various shipping lines. Some ships...
which was the equivalent of the "Liberty Ship"
Liberty ship
Liberty ships were cargo ships built in the United States during World War II. Though British in conception, they were adapted by the U.S. as they were cheap and quick to build, and came to symbolize U.S. wartime industrial output. Based on vessels ordered by Britain to replace ships torpedoed by...
building programme in the United States of America. The Cervia is thought to be last Empire Ship surviving in the United Kingdom.
History
The Cervia was launched from the yard of Alexander Hall and Co. Ltd in AberdeenAberdeen
Aberdeen is Scotland's third most populous city, one of Scotland's 32 local government council areas and the United Kingdom's 25th most populous city, with an official population estimate of ....
, Scotland
Scotland
Scotland is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. Occupying the northern third of the island of Great Britain, it shares a border with England to the south and is bounded by the North Sea to the east, the Atlantic Ocean to the north and west, and the North Channel and Irish Sea to the...
, on the 21 January 1946 and was handed to the Ministry of War Transport
Department for Transport
In the United Kingdom, the Department for Transport is the government department responsible for the English transport network and a limited number of transport matters in Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland which are not devolved...
. In December 1946 she was sold on to the maritime towing business of William Watkins Ltd for the sum of £36,000. The business had purchased the tug using compensation it received for the vessels it lost on War service such as the tugs "Napia" and "Muria" which were sunk after collisions with mines
Naval mine
A naval mine is a self-contained explosive device placed in water to destroy surface ships or submarines. Unlike depth charges, mines are deposited and left to wait until they are triggered by the approach of, or contact with, an enemy vessel...
near Ramsgate
Ramsgate
Ramsgate is a seaside town in the district of Thanet in east Kent, England. It was one of the great English seaside towns of the 19th century and is a member of the ancient confederation of Cinque Ports. It has a population of around 40,000. Ramsgate's main attraction is its coastline and its main...
in 1939 and 1940.
Name Change
In 1947 the Empire Raymond name was changed to CerviaCervia
Cervia is a town and comune in the province of Ravenna , central Italy.-History:Originally called Ficocle, it was probably of Greek origin and was located midway from current Cervia and Ravenna...
after the Italian Adriatic resort where the Watkins family owned a holiday villa. The name had previously been used on an earlier tug owned by William Watkins which taken part in the evacuation of Dunkirk
Battle of Dunkirk
The Battle of Dunkirk was a battle in the Second World War between the Allies and Germany. A part of the Battle of France on the Western Front, the Battle of Dunkirk was the defence and evacuation of British and allied forces in Europe from 26 May–4 June 1940.After the Phoney War, the Battle of...
in 1940 returning from there with 230 troops.
Working life
Whilst still known as the Empire Raymond the tug was employed with other tugs in the refurbishment of the Cunard liner Queen ElizabethRMS Queen Elizabeth
RMS Queen Elizabeth was an ocean liner operated by the Cunard Line. Plying with her running mate Queen Mary as a luxury liner between Southampton, UK and New York City, USA via Cherbourg, France, she was also contracted for over twenty years to carry the Royal Mail as the second half of the two...
from her roll as troop ship back to a passenger liner. During her working life the tug Cervia main roll was as a towing and salvage tug
Salvage tug
A salvage tug is a specialized type of tugboat which is used to rescue or marine salvage ships which are in distress or in danger of sinking, or which have already sunk or run aground....
between ports in the United Kingdom and mainland Europe. She would occasional be used in helping stranded vessels to free themselves from Goodwin Sands of the east Kent coast. When engaged in this rescue and salvage work she was often based in Ramsgate, an association with that port which would continue for 60 years right up to the present.
Ramsgate
The Cervia, along with other ships owned by Watkins were regularly maintained and repaired at the workshops and slipways of Claxton’s Ltd in Ramsgate. Claxton’s was subsidiary of William Watkins. In 1950 William Watkins Ltd was merged with other companies to form Ship Towage Ltd of LondonLondon
London is the capital city of :England and the :United Kingdom, the largest metropolitan area in the United Kingdom, and the largest urban zone in the European Union by most measures. Located on the River Thames, London has been a major settlement for two millennia, its history going back to its...
. As part of this company’s fleet the Cervia was involved in a serious incident.
Capsize
On the 25 October 1954 the Cervia was employed at Tilbury docksPort of Tilbury
The Port of Tilbury is located on the River Thames at Tilbury in Essex, England. It is the principal port for London; as well as being the main United Kingdom port for handling the importation of paper. There are extensive facilities for containers, grain, and other bulk cargoes. There are also...
in London. Cervia was involved in the undocking of the P&O liner , towing the liner stern first away from her landing stage. During this manoeuvre, the Arcadia had gone full ahead to avoid collision with liner P&O liner . The resulting wash caused Cervia to be dragged over and capsize and sink. Despite their valiant efforts to release the towing hawser the Cervia Captain Russell, MBE and five of her crew died. Another Watkins owned tug, Challenger, managed to rescue three of the crew. The subsequent court of enquiry into the case, recorded that the deaths were accidental, and the sinking was caused by the failure of a quick release pin on her towing hook. On the 28 October the Cervia herself became subject of a salvage operation. The tug was raised from the Thames riverbed and she was taken to Claxton’s Ltd in Ramsgate
Ramsgate
Ramsgate is a seaside town in the district of Thanet in east Kent, England. It was one of the great English seaside towns of the 19th century and is a member of the ancient confederation of Cinque Ports. It has a population of around 40,000. Ramsgate's main attraction is its coastline and its main...
for a refit and then returning to service. On the 27 January 1969 Cervia was at work on the [Thames when her owners merged with W.H.J. Alexander & Company Ltd to form the London Tug Company. The London Tug Company was to have a policy to phase out steam tugs in favour of more modern diesel vessels. The modernization of the fleet went ahead at speed and by 1971 the Cervia was laid up at Sheerness
Sheerness
Sheerness is a town located beside the mouth of the River Medway on the northwest corner of the Isle of Sheppey in north Kent, England. With a population of 12,000 it is the largest town on the island....
. It was hoped a buyer could be found or the tug would go to the breakers. The Cervia was offered to a potential buyer who wished to preserve her. His name was Michael List-Brain the Board of London Tugs agreed to her sale "as is, where lies", for sum of £3,500. Mr List-Brain purchased the ‘‘Cervia’’ in April of 1973 and took possession at Poplar Docks, London were she had been laid up. The tug then was given a refit and was back in steam by the summertime.
Medway Maritime Museum
She was used on the River MedwayRiver Medway
The River Medway, which is almost entirely in Kent, England, flows for from just inside the West Sussex border to the point where it enters the Thames Estuary....
for both for pleasure trips and for her new owner to familiarize himself with her. It was envisaged that Cervia would become a part of a new organisation to be called "The Medway Maritime Museum". This was the idea of the United Kingdoms foremost ship preservationists, Martin Stevens. Unfortunately by 1974, the plans faltered when the Medway Council proved to be unable to provide sufficient funding for the project and with having neither premises nor any money the original museum project looked very precarious.
Back to work
With the fledgling museum’s lack of income, List-Brian and Stevens decided that one solution was to put the Cervia back to work in the towing business. At this time exploration in the North sea for gas and oil was begging to pick up in pace. This provided an ideal opportunity for the Cervia to earn her keep again. The Cervia was contracted to a construction firm based on the Medway. The construction firm ofHoward Doris needed all manner of craft to assist with oil rig construction projects. In November 1974 Cervia to towed a crane barge to the Humber. She completed the contract with no problems, but with the cost of a very rapid re-equipping and complete lack of understanding as to the economics of marine towage meant the nett profit from this first towing contract was only £7.00.
International Towing Ltd
Following the contract with Howard Doris and the small profit, List-Brian and Stevens decided to put the fledgling business on a more professional business footing. A professional crew was employed and throughout 1975 several more successful towing contracts were undertaken by the Cervia all around the coast of the United Kingdom. During this time Cervia continued to prove her reliability working solidly for this twelve month period except for a small period of time spent on essential boiler cleaning and maintenance. So successful was the business and the increasing demands placed on it, a proper company was set up which was called International Towing Ltd. ITL, as the company was abbreviated to, added three more steam tugs to her books to keep up with demand. These’s tugs were ST Hercules, ST Hero and ST Goliath.Ramsgate
Like Watkins before them, International Towing Ltd. decided to chose Ramsgate as their home port. The knock on effect of these decisions gave a welcome boost to the local economy of Ramsgate which sore a resurgence of commercial ship repairing in the harbour. Cervia and the three other tugs were kept very busy with a variety of jobs both in the North Sea and with coastal towage contracts. In early 1977 two of the tugs of ITL, ST Hercules and ST Hero were taken out of service and returned to the Medway Maritime Trust, under the guidance of Martin Stevens. Nonetheless, ITL saw its business rapidly expand becoming an international operation all thanks to the reliability and hard work of Cervia and her sister tugs. To meet customer demands, Cervia and Goliath were joined further modern deep sea diesel powered tugs in 1978. by the 1980s, ITL’s fleet had grown to include the two most powerful tugs in the northern hemisphere and the business was sold of to the Far East. Cervia carried on working for ITL until 1983. Her last contract was to act as port tug for the new cross-channel ferry service at Ramsgate. The contract was terminated when the ferry service failed to operate a regular service due to the difficult economic climate of the early 1980s. Cervia was mothballed alongside the East Pier at Ramsgate Royal Harbour.Stardom
It was after this time that Cervia fulfilled a different role as a film location in an episode of the BBCBBC
The British Broadcasting Corporation is a British public service broadcaster. Its headquarters is at Broadcasting House in the City of Westminster, London. It is the largest broadcaster in the world, with about 23,000 staff...
comedy series Ripping Yarns
Ripping Yarns
Ripping Yarns is a British television comedy series, shown on BBC 2 from 1976 to 1979. It was written by Michael Palin and Terry Jones of Monty Python fame...
called The Curse Of The Claw with Michael Palin
Michael Palin
Michael Edward Palin, CBE FRGS is an English comedian, actor, writer and television presenter best known for being one of the members of the comedy group Monty Python and for his travel documentaries....
. Cervia had also been used in BBC production of Rogue Male
Rogue Male (1976 film)
Rogue Male is a 1976 British television film starring Peter O'Toole, based on Geoffrey Household's novel Rogue Male. Made by the BBC, it was adapted by Frederic Raphael and directed by Clive Donner, and also stars Alastair Sim, John Standing and Harold Pinter...
starring Peter O'Toole
Peter O'Toole
Peter Seamus Lorcan O'Toole is an Irish actor of stage and screen. O'Toole achieved stardom in 1962 playing T. E. Lawrence in Lawrence of Arabia, and then went on to become a highly-honoured film and stage actor. He has been nominated for eight Academy Awards, and holds the record for most...
in the mid-seventies.
Maritime Museum, Ramsgate
After negotiations between Cervia’s owners and Thanet District Council's Harbour Master and his deputy, the tug was loaned and placed in the care of Ramsgate Maritime Museum, run by the East Kent Maritime Trust in July 1985. Later in July she was taken to moorings in John SmeatonSmeaton
Smeaton may refer to:* Smeaton, East Lothian, a village and estate in Scotland* Smeaton, Saskatchewan, a Canadian community* Smeaton, Victoria, an Australian town* Smeaton , people with the surname Smeaton-See also:...
's Historic Dry Dock. Funding was then secured for restoration work to be carried out on the Cervia. She was repainted to her original working livery of William Watkins days. A new mast was also fitted and her crew accommodation was refurbished to provide areas for museum displays. In 1986 Cervia was visited by HRH Queen Elizabeth the Queen Mother
Elizabeth Bowes-Lyon
Elizabeth Angela Marguerite Bowes-Lyon was the queen consort of King George VI from 1936 until her husband's death in 1952, after which she was known as Queen Elizabeth The Queen Mother, to avoid confusion with her daughter, Queen Elizabeth II...
. To mark Cervia's 50th birthday a specialist engineer John Veneer oversaw restoration of the tugs 1,000 horsepower engine to full working order. Cervia became the center point of the 'Historic Harbour' initiative and was joined by other vessels from the maritime museum's collection and privately owned classic boats.
Uncertain future
The East Kent Maritime Trust attempted to put together a joint restoration project for both the Smeaton's Dry Dock and the steam tug "Cervia". It was hoped that funding from a number of sources including the Heritage Lottery FundHeritage Lottery Fund
The Heritage Lottery Fund is a fund established in the United Kingdom under the National Lottery etc. Act 1993. The Fund opened for applications in 1994. It uses money raised through the National Lottery to transform and sustain the UK’s heritage...
, the European Regional Development Fund
European Regional Development Fund
The European Regional Development Fund is a fund allocated by the European Union.-History:During the 1960s, the European Commission occasionally tried to establish a regional fund. Only Italy ever supported this, however, and nothing came of it. Britain made it an issue for their accession in...
, other E.U. grants and private sources would be secured. The East Kent Maritime Trust has now shelved this project The Steam Museum Trust is now hoping to start a stand-alone restoration project for the tug. The ST Cervia now is moored in Ramsgate harbour, a rare survivor of steam ship development. She is the last sea-going steam tug to survive in UK waters, and she was also the last to work commercially.