The steam tug ''Brent'' is a

tugboat A tugboat or tug is a marine vessel that manoeuvres other vessels by pushing or pulling them, with direct contact or a tow line. These boats typically tug ships in circumstances where they cannot or should not move under their own power, suc ...

. She was built in 1945 as the TID-class tug ''TID 159'' for the

Ministry of War Transport The Ministry of War Transport (MoWT) was a department of the British Government formed early in the Second World War to control transportation policy and resources. It was formed by merging the Ministry of Shipping and the Ministry of Transpor ...

. Completed too late to take part in the

Second World War World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...

, she was sold in 1946 to the

Port of London Authority The Port of London Authority (PLA) is a self-funding public trust established on 31 March 1909 in accordance with the Port of London Act 1908 to govern the Port of London. Its responsibility extends over the Tideway of the River Thames and its ...

and renamed ''Brent''. She spent the next 23 years as a dredger, removing debris from the navigable channels of the

Thames The River Thames ( ), known alternatively in parts as the River Isis, is a river that flows through southern England including London. At , it is the longest river entirely in England and the second-longest in the United Kingdom, after th ...

, before the decline of the

London Docks The London Docks were one of several sets of docks in the historic Port of London. They were constructed in Wapping, downstream from the City of London between 1799 and 1815, at a cost exceeding £5½ million. Traditionally ships had d ...

and the replacement of steam-powered vessels by diesel-fired ones led to her sale. Intended to be scrapped, she was bought from a ship-breaking yard by Ron Hall in 1971. Hall converted ''Brent'' into a residential yacht and his family sailed her recreationally, largely along the eastern coast of Britain. Problems with her boiler led her to be laid up in 1994. Since 2011 the vessel has been owned by a charitable trust which has sought to raise funds for her restoration.

Construction

The ''Brent'' was built as ''TID 159'' in 1945. The TID-class tugs were ordered by the

in 1942 to replace vessels lost during the

. They were designed to be constructed of simple pre-fabricated sections which were manufactured inland before being assembled at a shipyard, often by women due to many men being away serving in the armed forces. The class was one of the first examples of prefabricated steel shipbuilding in the UK. This enabled them to be constructed quickly; at peak production one vessel was completed every four-and-a-half days. The origin of the TID name is not known but it may be an initialism for Tug Invasion Duty, Tug Inshore Duties, Tug Intermediate Design or an abbreviation for tiddler, the latter based on its size. Some 182 TID-class vessels were constructed by 1946, most entering service with the

Admiralty Admiralty most often refers to: *Admiralty, Hong Kong * Admiralty (United Kingdom), military department in command of the Royal Navy from 1707 to 1964 *The rank of admiral *Admiralty law Admiralty can also refer to: Buildings * Admiralty, Tra ...

. ''TID 159'' was among the last to be built, being assembled by William Pickersgill & Sons Ltd in Sunderland in 1945. ''TID 159'' has a single deck and a flat-bottomed hull. She has a

waterline length A vessel's length at the waterline (abbreviated to L.W.L) is the length of a ship or boat at the level where it sits in the water (the ''waterline''). The LWL will be shorter than the length of the boat overall (''length overall'' or LOA) as mos ...

of ,

length overall Length overall (LOA, o/a, o.a. or oa) is the maximum length of a vessel's hull measured parallel to the waterline. This length is important while docking the ship. It is the most commonly used way of expressing the size of a ship, and is also ...

of , beam of ,

moulded depth A hull is the watertight body of a ship, boat, submarine, or flying boat. The hull may open at the top (such as a dinghy), or it may be fully or partially covered with a deck. Atop the deck may be a deckhouse and other superstructures, such as a ...

of and a draught of . ''TID 159'' had a gross register tonnage of 54. She had an eight-man crew. In common with the last 92 ships of her class ''TID 159'' was oil-fired, with a fuel tank of capacity. Her single

Scotch marine boiler A "Scotch" marine boiler (or simply Scotch boiler) is a design of steam boiler best known for its use on ships. The general layout is that of a short horizontal cylinder. One or more large cylindrical furnaces are in the lower part of the boiler ...

, manufactured by John G. Kincaid & Company, and 2-cylinder compound reciprocating steam engine of , drove a single screw and was capable of propelling the vessel at .

PLA service

''TID 159'' was completed too late to see war service, she was sold to the

(PLA) in 1946 and renamed ''Brent''. During her time in PLA ownership works were carried out to strengthen her decks and bow. Additionally her aft bollards and forward

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