Chug little Dartmouth tug - Portwey steam tug boat takes a trip to Dartmouth

The steam tug Portwey with its coal-fired twin engine travels from Totnes to Dartmouth. The tug was built by Harland and Wolff and launched on the 10 August 1927 from the Govan yard in Glasgow. The engines built by D & W Henderson are still in use today. First owned by the Portland and Weymouth Coaling Company it supplied coal to steamers along the South coast and was on call for any vessels requiring assistance or salvage.

During WWII the tug was controlled by the US Army and based in Dartmouth. In 1951 the tug was then sold to the Falmouth Dock and Engineering Company and resold in 1967 to Richard Dobson who restored and maintained it for fifteen years. The Portwey is currently part of the steam tug Portwey Association now based in London. In 1996 the tug was awarded £82,000 from the Heritage Lottery Fund to replace the hulland in 2012 the little Portway tug chugged up the Thames as part of the Queen's Diamond Jubilee celebrations.