The Tug
Mumbles Last Voyage from Swansea
March 3rd
1995.

The
Mumbles swinging an ore carrier at Port Talbot.
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The Mumbles arrived in Swansea
in 1969 fresh from the yard of Richard Dunstan at
Hessle and apart from a short spell in Liverpool,
spent the rest of her working life at Swansea.
The Mumbles was probably one
of the best looking tugs ever to have worked in
the Bristol Channel and certainly one of the best
sea-boats.
After losing the contract at
Port Talbot Tidal Harbour, it was decided that the
Mumbles would be transferred to Howard Smith at
Gibraltar,
A contract was awarded to
Howard Smith Towage to tow a small Turkish tanker
called the Sarihan 1 from Strood on the River Medway
to Gibraltar. The money made on this operation
would offset wages and fuel costs incurred by this
fleet transfer.
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The
Sarihan 1 seen as the Firecrest

The
crew of the Mumbles March 5th. 1995 Photo
by Brian Murphy.
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Richard Heslop, Mate. John Blackmore, Mate.
Frank Azzopari, who was taking over as Master
at Gibraltar, Myself, Rod Murchison, who was
taking over as Chief Engineer, Russell Cook,
Lawrence Myland, A.B. Ray Vivian, Chief
Engineer and Brian Lee, Second Engineer
The Sarihan 1 was built
at the Bilbao yard of Ruiz de Velasco in
1969 and named Fenol. A small tanker of
1134 dwt. She was sold in 1979 and renamed
Devon Curlew. She was again sold in 1986 and
renamed Firecrest and finally sold to Turkish
interests in 1995. The vessel was scrapped in
June 2003 at Aliaga in Turkey.
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All
connected and ready to go at Strood


Negotiating one of the many bends on the River Medway

Crossing The Bay of Biscay

Just visible in a full gale.

Moored alongside another of the Turkish Companies vessels at
Gibraltar
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On our arrival at Gibraltar both these
vessels were placed under arrest by the authorities due to
discrepancies with documentation. That evening a dense fog
descended over the Rock and when the fog had lifted at
daybreak the following day, both vessels had vanished. |

The Mumbles leaves
Gibraltar under tow in November 2008
bound for new owners
in Portugal
Photo Courtesy of J.J.
Fernandez Gibraltar
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