Steam Tug Portwey

Home
United Kingdom
London
Steam Tug Portwey

1927 Steam Tug built by Harland and Wolf on the Clyde She spent most of her life around the Weymouth coast line performing the varied duties of a harbour tug.

Portwey was ordered to be built by the Portland and Weymouth Coaling Company on the 10th November 1926 and was launched on the 10th August 1927 at Haland and Wolff's Govan yard on the Clyde in Glasgow. These included assisting vessels who had broken down, vessels caught out by rough weather or who had run into trouble. By 1965 Portwey had been working for 38 years but with diesel tugs having been

in general use for many years now Portwey was coming to the end of her working life. Two years later in 1967 Portwey was taken out of service and destined for the scrap yard. Fortunately the assistant harbour master at Dartmouth, Richard Dobson saw Portwey and decided to buy her. On the 4th October 1967 Richard Dobson became Portweys new owner. Richard along with some friends restored and kept Portwey running up until the 1980's when the restoration was becoming to much to handle. The difficult decision was made to contact the Maritime Trust based in Greenwhich London, were on the 28th May 1982 she left Dartmouth and arrived in london on the 7th June. She was handed over to the Maritime Trust and her new home became St. Katherine's Dock. Not long after this the Friends of Portwey formed to continue the restoration work started in 1967. In 1994 the Maritime trust advised the friends of Portwey that they may not be able to provide funding for a long term basis and she may have to be sold. It was decided that the friends of Portwey were to set up a charitable trust to manage and operate the vessel. So the friends of Portwey became The Steam Tug Portwey Association in 1994. In 1995 a long term charter was negotiated with the Maritime Trust and the Steam Tug Portwey Association took over running portwey. In 1996 the Association was awarded a Heritage Lottery Grant to enable major work to be carried out the the steel hull and associated internal steel work. In 2000 the Steam Tug Portwey Association became a charitable company, The steam Tug Portwey Trust was now formed and the Trust purchased Portwey from the Maritime Trust on the 2nd June 2000. To this day members of the trust volunteer there time to help restore and run this wonderful little Tug which is thought to be the last remaining working twin screw Steam Tug in existence.

08/08/2026

23/07/2026

Attention All Tugboat Lovers!

These are the final days of the Watermen’s July Fundraising Raffle and this month’s prize is an original painting of the Steam Tug Brent – Pre Restoration by renowned artist Roger Flitter.

The Brent is the last surviving steam lighterage tug of the many that once worked the docks and the river, making this a unique piece of maritime history and a wonderful addition to any collection.

Roger Flitter is a highly regarded artist whose work has been exhibited and sold both privately and publicly. He is best known for his beautiful watercolours, with subjects ranging from boats, harbours and estuaries to wildlife and rural scenes.

The July Raffle closes at the end of July—so don't miss the boat!
https://go.rallyup.com/watermen

All proceeds from the raffle go towards supporting the restoration of Watermen’s Hall, so every entry helps us preserve this important piece of our community’s heritage.

Join me in supporting Royal Benevolent & Educational Fund for Watermen & Lightermen: https://go.rallyup.com/watermen

11/05/2026

25/01/2026

Please help by filling out the questionnaire

28/12/2025

The progress on the boiler repairs has been slow, given that we were hoping to return to steam back in September.

It has been agreed that while the tubes are removed some further remedial works will be undertaken. This includes removing the girder stays on top the return chambers inside the boiler. These will be completey remade and refitted. This extra work has taken extra time, but we are hoping to complete this work within the next few months, and return to boat to steam in 2026.
More updates to follow soon.

Address

South Quay Docks
London
E14

Telephone

+447773288685

Website

http://www.stportwey.co.uk/

Alerts

Be the first to know and let us send you an email when Steam Tug Portwey posts news and promotions. Your email address will not be used for any other purpose, and you can unsubscribe at any time.