The Pickersgill Shipyard
|
TID
154, an oil burning steam tug built by William Pickersgill Ltd.
in Sunderland, did not see active duty in the Second World War
because she was launched in August 1945 and completed as the
war ended. TID tugs were innovative because of their all-welded
sectional construction.
|
|
|
Cyprus
Mines Corporation site
|
She
was sold to a company called Wilkins and Devereux Ltd. in 1947
and in the same year to the Solea Barge Company in Cyprus.
For
the rest of her working life TID 154 pulled barges for the American
owned Cyprus Mines Corporation (CMC) based at a copper mine
at Gemikonagi near Lefke on the North coast.
|
|
|
|
There
were no shipyard facilities in that part of the island so maintenance
was carried out on a makeshift slipway comprising railway lines
on a pebble beach. |
|
|
|
In
1974 when the Turks invaded Cyprus TID 154 was on such a slipway
adjacent to the pier which was her base.
She is there to this day. The Americans abandoned the tug and
the entire mining operation. |
|
|
|
When
the Turkish government were tidying up the scrap metal left
over from the fighting, TID 154 was spotted by a certain Alaeddin
Burhan, who purchased her from the government and changed her
name to Burhan 111.
The
buildings associated with the pier and the slipway became a
fish and chip shop run by Cemal Datas. The tug became a well
known landmark sitting high and dry in the cafe car park, and
was so close to the buildings that vandals left her well alone.
|
|
|
|
In
1999 Doug Streeter from Brighton, an octogenarian journalist,
was on holiday in Northern Cyprus.
On his return to Britain his journalistic instincts lead him
to investigate the story of the land-bound tug. There was no
name on the hull, just the words "TID LONDON".
|
|
|
TID 164 at Chatham Historic Dockyard
|
He
found that TID was a class of tug and that examples of such vessels
were being preserved in the Southeast of England. One of these
was TID 164, moored at Chatham Historic Dockyard and owned by
Martin Stevens. When the two met at Chatham the circle was complete.
Martin was able to identify the Cyprus vessel as TID 154 which
had been built in the same yard just a few weeks before his vessel.
He determined to go to Cyprus. |
|
|
Cemal Datas
|
In
May 2000 Martin flew to Northern Cyprus, found the tug, met
Cemal Datas, found out the name of the owner, and decided to
buy the tug. 'Plan A' was to restore her. If this was not practical
then 'plan B' would be to bring the machinery back to England
to be used in another vessel.
At
this time Alaeddin Burhan was living in Florida and had retirement
dreams of taking the tug to Turkey, converting her to become
a diesel engined yacht and cruise the Mediterranean. Martin
was to persuade him otherwise.
|
|
|
Martin Stevens
|
When
a price was agreed, a legal agreement was drawn up for Martin
to buy the tug at some future date because at this time there
were no funds for the purchase.
It
was not until 2004 that the vessel changed hands and came under
the protection of the team at the Medway Maritime Trust.
In
the same year Martin flew out again, this time with the intention
of arranging for a carpenter to make the cabins habitable so
that engineers could follow to start work and have somewhere
to stay on board.
The
best laid plans.........
|
|
|
TID 154 boiler room
|
Martin
went straight to the tug and immediately realised that 'plan
B' had to be activated.
During
some celebrations of a past victory of Turks over Greeks, beacons
had been lit. Cemal Datas had decided that his contribution
to the festivities would be to make smoke come out of the tug's
funnel. He lit the fire in the boiler room and not in the boiler.
Being an oil fired vessel there was still oil in the bunkers.
There was an explosion which ripped open the port bunker.
|
|
|
TID 154 engine room
|
It
took a weekend of pointless contacts until Omer Andag was engaged
to remove all the machinery from TID 154 and store it in his yard.
He turned up on the Monday with gas cutting equipment a crane
and a small truck. Masks and goggles supplied by Martin were discarded
by the cutting crew and work progressed well. |
|
|
Omer Andag
|
Martin
had an opportunity to make plans for the future of the empty hull.
|
|
|
Painting of TID 154 by David Walker
|
He
was guided by local ex-pat David Walker who ran an art shop near
to the tug. David's wife worked at Lefke University and a meeting
was arranged with a don who had contacts with the United Nations.
A 'UNOPS' grant might be available to set up the tug as a restaurant
and museum. |
|
|
Steam equipment removed from TID 154
|
Martin
visited the Mayor of Lefke, Mehmet Zafer, who may be able to
allocate some land to stand the tug on. This was to be a visit
too far.
After three days of removing machinery the Mayor turned up at
the tug with two policemen and demanded that work should cease
immediately. A court order was threatened, and he insisted that
the parts already taken off must be stored in the Mayoral Yard.
|
|
|
|
At
the meeting with the Mayor, Martin had obviously done an effective
job at convincing him that the tug project could be important
for the area. His worship had now realised that the rusting
hulk of steel on his beach was in fact a piece of Cypriot history,
to be preserved intact at all costs.
The
story found its way to the national daily paper Cyprus Today
in both the Turkish and English language editions and the 'man
from the British Museum' made front page news.
|
|
|
Martin Stevens and Mayor Mehmet Cevaz
|
Diplomacy
was the order of the day.
Martin convinced Mehmet Cevaz that the machinery was an obstacle
to achieving 'the Mayor's project' and dismantling was allowed
to continue. The parts were stored behind the premises of Omer
Andag the man with the crane, who has said he will keep them
safe until they are shipped to England.
Martin
has since revisited Cyprus to ensure that the issue has died
down in the Municipal Corporation of Lefke. The machinery is
safely stored, the Mayor has no objection to its export and
Martin would genuinely like to find a use in the area for the
rest of the tug.
|
|
"Fast
forward" to 2006...
|
Vigilant arriving in Faversham
|
In
the autumn of 2006 Martin and the Medway Maritime Trust were
successful in rescuing the 1902 Customs Cutter 'Vigilant' from
a scrap yard in Portsmouth. The vessel is now in Faversham Creek,
North Kent.
|
|
|
|
This
seems to be an irrelevant diversion from the TID 154 story but
the Vigilant had all its steam machinery removed in 1920. The
Medway Maritime Trust finds that it can supply a complete steam
system 'from stock'. It is only a container ride away in North
Cyprus.
(Click
here for
the Vigilant website)
|
|
|