Maritime record MWX5075 - H L S 161

Tug lost in 1949 at Ferrybridge, Chesil Beach (1)
A tug was wrecked on Chesil Beack, opposite the car park (2)

Reference to this tug can only be found in two sources, and it is not mentioned in the Shipwreck Index of the British Isles.

Source 3 states that 'Tug HLS 161. [Which was lost in 1949, lies on] Chesil Beach, opposite [the] Car Park.' An approximate position of 50°34.80N, 002°28.30W has been estimated from the above description of the location of the wreck and its comparison to a map of the area.

Source 4, the RNLI website, shows that in 1949, a 'Silver Medal awarded to Coxswain Frederick J Palmer and Bronze Medal to Motor Mechanic J McDermott for the rescue of four people from an old dockyard steam tug HLS 161 on 2 April 1949 . The sea was rough [and] there was heavy driving rain and dense banks of fog. When the tug was found, she was broadside on to the dangerous Chesil Beach and not more than 50 yards from it.' (4)

Nothing further is known about the vessel.

Date of loss qualifier: Actual date of loss

The building date for this vessel is an estimate based on an average age at wrecking of twenty years. This average is derived from those vessels wrecked on the Dorset coast whose age at wrecking is known.

<1> Le Pard, G, 1995-2003, Dorset Coast Forum Maritime Archaeological Database, 1072 (Digital archive). SWX8707.

<2> Trim, P, 1985 about, Shipwrecks, Abbotsbury to Portland. (Monograph). SWX8061.

<3> World Wide Web page andlt;http://www.portlandbill.co.uk/wrecks, Accessed 23-JUL-2010 (Digital archive). SWX5281.

<4> http://www.weymouth.lifeboatstation.org.uk/stationhistory.htm, Accessed 23-JUL-2010 (Digital archive). SDO20680.

<5> National Record of the Historic Environment, 1521617 (Digital archive). SDO14739.

Record last edited

Apr 11 2024 1:50PM