Originally built in 1954 by 'Richard Dunston' at Thorne for the Australian Army Engineering Corps, the tug 'Tulagi' (L:18,30m, B:4,70m, D:2,30m) was never delivered there and was instead completed for the UK War Department for use as a training vessel by the Port Training Regiment of the Royal Engineers at Marchwood, Southampton. By 1973 it was sold to 'H.G. Pounds Shipowners & Shipbreakers Ltd' at Portsmouth and quickly found a new owner with Port Talbot Diving & Marine Services Co (A.J. Doig) at Port Talbot where it recieved it's name of 'Tulagi' and the number of PT48. Sometime later during the 70's/80's, it passed on to 'Haulbowline Industries' and later lost it's 4cyl Diesel Widdop type EMB4 engine of 200bhp @400rpm in favour of a Caterpillar Diesel of 360bhp before then passing onto another new owner in Cork (Eire) sometime during the 1980's before being laid up in 2004.

With it's days now apparently over, the 'Tulagi' looks rather forlorn as it sits high on the banks of the River Bandon, near the picturesque vllage of Innishannon in Co.Cork on Fri 5th Jan 2007 at 15:18.

(c) Ross Aitken ([email protected]), 2007.
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