Liverpool Echo, 5 December 1994:
MERSEY TUG SINKS IN FORCE 9 WINDS: Vessel on way to scrapyard.
A MERSEY river
tug capsized and sank today after gale force winds whipped up dangerous white
water. The tug, named Nelson,
( Nelson image),
flipped over in force 9 winds as it was being towed to Garston Docks to be
broken up for scrap. Within 60 seconds, the vessel had sunk bows first in the
middle of the entrance channel to the dock, with only its mast still showing
above the waves. Its towing vessel, the powerful sea-going tug Ardneil,
circled the sinking vessel wreck but was powerless to help. ( Ardneil
image)
Mersey Docks and Harbour spokesman Eric Leatherbarrow said:
"The tug has gone down in the middle of the entrance channel to Garston
docks but there were no crew on board. It's too soon to tell how badly
river traffic will be affected."
Mersey Docks and Harbour
Company sent its salvage vessel Vigilance to investigate whether the
Nelson could be recovered.
Coastguards scrambled Liverpool's inshore lifeboat after receiving emergency
calls as the accident happened.
Image from Liverpool Echo of "Going down - a tug tends to the
sinking vessel" - Nelson sinking in the entrance to Garston Dock.
Liverpool Echo, 16 December 1994:
Diver in rescue drama.
A DIVER was injured when a steel cable snapped during a
night-time operation in the River Mersey. The drama sparked a lifeboat
rescue, with the injured man lying unconscious for some time. Five
divers were trying to raise a tug which sank in bad weather near Garston
Docks 10 days ago. Gary Canning, 31, from Merseyside, was aboard the
60ft floating crane Mersey Mammoth, which was trying to haul the sunken
tug Nelson to the surface at 10 o'clock last night.
Robert Eedle, station officer with the River Mersey Inshore
Rescue, said: "He was knocked unconscious. Had he fallen overboard he
could have died. It was a very dark night with driving rain and we
would have had a tough job finding him."
Mr. Canning was taken to the Liverpool landing stage at Pier
Head in a 17ft inflatable. He was discharged from the Royal Liverpool
Hospital today.
In February 1995, attempts to lift the Nelson using the floating crane MERSEY MAMMOTH (1,793gt) failed when the vessel slipped off the slings. Nelson remained engulfed in mud.
Liverpool Echo, 10 June 1995: Nelson loses final battle:
A MERSEY river tug has been beached at Otterspool
promenade in Liverpool ready for scrapping. The tug Nelson has been moved
by the Mersey Docks and Harbour Company from Garston Docks where it sank six
months ago after capsizing in a gale.
It was lifted on to a sandbank near the Britannia pub at
Otterspool, where salvage teams will move in and break it up for scrap.
The tug was at the entrance to Garston Docks when a force 9 gale
overturned it. Another towing boat circled the wreck but was powerless
to help. The Nelson was eventually rescued by the MDHC's salvage vessel
Vigilance.
Postscript:
Charted as least depth 1m
with W cardinal buoy "Nelson" nearby at 100m 302° from wreck.
Wreck lies in scour with significant sonar signal.
Position given by MDHB (OGB36 datum) as 53°22.307N 2°58.337W.
My position of wreckage (WGS84): 53°22.322N, 2°58.417W; see plot
of my depth survey
(scales in metres; depths above Chart Datum) here.
