(From Sea Breezes in 1957, published from a Steel & Bennie Centenary publication)

For part one see:
Steel & Bennie - Part One
For part two see:
Steel & Bennie - Part Two
For part three see:
Steel & Bennie - Part Three
Part Four - Experiences of Wartime Clyde


It is difficult to select events of especial note in these war years, so crowded with noteworthy incidents but one outstanding occasion was the night of December 5th, 1940, when no fewer than eight vessels lying at the Tail O The Bank dragged their anchors and grounded during a very severe gale. Because of the black-out orders during the emergency no riding lights were shown by the ships.

The fury of the gale and the utter congestion of the anchorage made the situation both difficult and dangerous for tugs to be under way in this area. After a lengthy search, not without its own incidents, the ships in trouble were found and the tow ropes made fast, the tugs standing by until daylight.

Because of the appalling conditions it was not practicable until daybreak to attempt services other than the prevention of further serious mishap. The refloating of these vessels, and the attention to the normal day-to-day work at the same time, imposed a task of magnitude on both the operations and the management side of the business. But the combined efforts of the tugs working all round the clock enabled the control to keep abreast with the multitude of difficult and varied operations so urgently required.

Towing in vessels disabled by enemy action and assisting ships to sail in time to catch up with the convoys was part of every day's work.

The night of March 14th, 1941, was the night of the Clydebank Blitz. The oil tanks at Old Kilpatrick had been set on fire by incendiary bombs and a large Norwegian tanker, the FERNCOURT, was moored at the Oil Wharf.

The river was completely closed to traffic owing to the large number of unexploded mines. The following day the wind changed putting the tanker in grave danger of catching fire. The tugs WARRIOR, CHIEFTAIN and RACIA were despatched from Greenock, but apparently owing to faulty liaison were prevented from proceeding further than Dumbarton by the River Patrol. However, after returning to Greenock the tugs were once again despatched to the assistance of the FERNCOURT and arrived alongside on a strong ebb tide.

Owing to the flames across the wharf it was not practicable for the pilot to board the tanker from the shore. Thereupon the master of the tug WARRIOR, Skipper, Malcolm McIntyre, volunteered to pilot the vessel to a berth in Glasgow. His offer was accepted and the WARRIOR and RACIA made fast ahead. The CHIEFTAIN, under the command of Skipper Thomas McKeague, made fast astern. Soon after the vessel had sailed -at about 5pm- when off Renfrew Pier, a landmine exploded underneath the WARRIOR liftng her almost clear of the water.

The CHIEFTAIN let-go aft to assist the WARRIOR, but the RACIA, having also suffered damage, was able to keep ahead of the ship which had sheered violently under the impact of the explosion and was making for the Renfrew Ferry Slip. Skipper McIntyre, using the ship's engines, cleverly steered clear of the slipway and proceeded upriver, berthing safely in King George V Dock with one tug.

The FERNCOURT was a ship of about 450 feet in length and this was certainly no mean feat of seamanship in the handling of the vessel under these circumstances.

The CHIEFTAIN assisted the WARRIOR alongside the collapsed pier at Renfrew where she sank after the crew had been taken off. Eventually she was lifted and refloated on March 25th and after being examined in Queen's Dock, it was found that her machinery had been completely wrecked and for the most part was not repairable; her hull had also suffered severely from the blast. She was towed to Port Glasgow and after extensive repairs, returned to service on October 12th 1941.


WARRIOR. Photo: Bill Green

 

For part one see:
Steel & Bennie - Part One
For part two see:
Steel & Bennie - Part Two
For part three see:
Steel & Bennie - Part Three

Click here for part two