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The Island Commander: Sea–Going Tug and ex–Grimsby Trawler

by John MacFarlane 2016

Island Commander

Island Commander (Photo from John MacFarlane collection.)

Built in 1912 at Selby UK by Cochrane & Sons Ltd. as the Andrew Kelly she was renamed in 1942 as the Island Commander in Selby UK.

In 1912 she was owned by Atlin Construction Co. Ltd., Grimsby UK. In 1914 she was owned by the Canadian Fishing Company. In 1929–1933 she was owned by the Canadian Fish and Cold Storage Co. Ltd., Prince Rupert BC. In 1936 she was owned by Dominion Tug & Barge Co. Ltd. In 1939 she was owned by the Pacific Salvage Co. Ltd., North Vancouver BC. In 1940 she was owned by Vancouver Dry Dock & Salvage Co. Ltd., Vancouver BC. In 1941 she was owned by Island Tug & Barge, Victoria BC. In 1941–1944 she was chartered to the US Government in the Aleutians for the US Army Transportation Service. In 1946 she towed the full–rigged Pamir out of the Strait of Juan de Fuca. In 1947–1970 as a tug she was owned by Island Tug & Barge Ltd., Victoria BC. In 1971–2014 she was owned by Island Sea Marine Ltd. (Ken Higgs), West Vancouver BC.

In 1914 she arrived at Prince Rupert BC. In 1917 she rescued the tug Commodore and her tow the sailing ship St. David. She is said to be the last Grimsby Trawler still afloat. In 1949 she ran aground on Thrasher Rock. In 1956 she was re–built as a salvage vessel.

Island Commander

Island Commander (Photo from the John MacFarlane collection. )

In 1936 she was powered with a steam 58rhp triple expansion steam engine. In 1941 she was converted to a tug re–engined as a 500 hp. McIntosh–Seymour diesel engine from the Boobyalla. In 1947 she was powered by an oil 6–cylinder McIntosh & Seymour engine, Auburn NY. In 1956 she was re–engined with a 1200hp. 8–cylinder Union diesel engine. In 1975 she was re–powered at Seattle WA with a 1750hp. 16–cylinder EMD GM–567 diesel engine.

Island Commander

Island Commander (Photo from the John MacFarlane collection. )

Over the years she had many Masters including: Captain Jack Gillam (1941), Captain ‘Drydie’ Jones, Captain Charlie Goodwin, Captain George W. Hovel, Captain G.W. Higgs

Island Commander

Island Commander (Photo from the John MacFarlane collection. )

Island Commander

Island Commander (Photo from the John MacFarlane collection. )


To quote from this article please cite:

MacFarlane, John M. (2016) The Island Commander: Sea–Going Tug and ex–Grimsby Trawler. Nauticapedia.ca 2016. http://nauticapedia.ca/Gallery/Island_Commander.php

Nauticapedia

Site News: November 20, 2024

The vessel database has been updated and is now holding 94,591 vessel histories (with 16,203 images and 13,900 records of ship wrecks and marine disasters).

Vessel records are currently being reviewed and updated with more than 40,000 processed so far this year.

The mariner and naval biography database has also been updated and now contains 58,599 entries (with 3996 images).

Thanks to contributor Mike Rydqvist McCammon for the hundreds of photos he has contributed to illustrate British Columbia’s floating heritage.

My very special thanks to our volunteer IT adviser, John Eyre, who (since 2021) has modernized, simplified and improved the update process for the databases into semi–automated processes. His participation has been vital to keeping the Nauticapedia available to our netizens.

Also my special thanks to my volunteer content accuracy checker, John Spivey of Irvine CA USA, who continues (almost every day for the last couple of years) to proof read thousands of Nauticapedia vessel histories and provided input to improve more than 14,000 entries. His attention to detail has been a huge unexpected bonus in improving and updating the vessel detail content.

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