1913 tug getting a new lease of life

SteamShip: The coal-fired vessel saw service in two wars

A vessel built in Montrose is having its hull repaired to preserve its life.

Built by Montrose Shipbuilding Co Ltd in March 1913, the steam tug Kerne is in dry dock at Cammell Laird on Merseyside.

The Steam Tug Kerne Preservation Society received funding from the Heritage Lottery Fund to enable essential hull repairs to be carried out.

Originally named Viking, Kerne was built in Montrose to fulfil an order placed by Gerdes-Hansen and Co.

In April 1913 it was acquired by the Admiralty and renamed Terrier.

Based in Chatham, it served as a harbour/basin tug for 35 years and is now the last remaining operational naval coal-fired steamship to have seen service in two world wars.

It was sold out of naval service in March 1948 to JP Knight and renamed Kerne, which is Gaelic for ‘vagabond foot soldier’.

In September 1949 it was sold on to the Straits Steamship Company of Liverpool, sailing north to work on the Mersey, Manchester Ship Canal and Weaver Navigation as a lighterage tug until its retirement in March 1971.

The Kerne was about to go for scrap when a group of enthusiasts outbid the scrapman and rescued it from the cutter’s torch.

Its greatest honour was to represent its type in the royal review of ships on the Mersey during the Queen’s silver jubilee in 1977.

The Kerne’s hull is being repaired.