When the boat .... goes up in flames
CREWS FIGHT FIRE WHICH BREAKS OUT ON FLOATING NIGHTSPOT
MUCH-LOVED former Newcastle party boat the Tuxedo Royale was engulfed by fire last night.
Smoke could be seen billowing for miles from the once-popular Geordie nightspot, which has been left to rust on the River Tees since 2009.
Thick black smoke drifted across the Transporter Bridge in Middlesbrough as five crews from Cleveland Fire Brigade attempted to contain the fire.
A spokeswoman for Cleveland Fire Brigade said: “We can confirm we have five fire crews on scene and there is a fire on the decks. That is all we can say at the moment.”
The Tuxedo Royale – formerly known as the TSS Dover and later renamed the Earl Siward and then the Sol Express – was moved to Able UK’s Middlesbrough port in 2009 after time on the Tyne as a popular nightclub.
Its owners went into administration shortly afterwards, leaving it with no legal owner – and nobody to take responsibility for its maintenance or removal.
The turbine steamship was built in 1965 as a roll-on/roll-off ferry and spent much of her later life as a floating nightspot beneath the Tyne Bridge, before being laid up on the banks of the Tees.
Earlier this year, Middlesbrough Council confirmed it would finally move the boat to support the ongoing redevelopment and regeneration of Middlehaven.
John Coates, a campaigner who has long wanted to restore the Tuxedo Royale to its former glory as a training ship, was at the scene and described the fire as ‘serious.’
He said: “It could have been caused by anything – it has been a hot day, it could have been someone.
“We have wanted to restore it. The problem was it did not work with the council’s ski centre – there were issues. We were at a deadlock.
“Basically, the steel structure is all I am interested in. It may be a bit warped but hopefully it will be OK.”