Lantic Bay

Lantic Bay dredger going out to sea with her load

I happened to see this small boat going upriver and later asked the pilot about her and he explained that she was actually been built on the banks of Fowey in 1957 as a dedicated dredger and she is still working nearly 70 years later. Very convenient for a port to have their own dredger at their beck and call. I did a bit of digging on the interwebs and found this page about her where one can download a 56 page history and pictures of her build process and work, very interesting. In short her major chapters have been as follows:

The Lantic Bay (IMO: 8645088) is a historic British grab hopper dredger built in 1958 by Brazen Island Shipyard Ltd. in Polruan. Length Overall (LOA): 29 meters, beam: 7 meters, Deadweight capacity: 216 tons. Originally built from mostly second hand equipment by Fowey Harbour Commissioners, she was based in Polruan on the Fowey Estuary, Cornwall, and regularly deployed for maintenance dredging across South West harbors, including Fowey, Penzance, and Cattewater Harbour in Plymouth. The vessel originally utilized her wing tanks for carrying water, serving as a water carrier for laid-up tankers in the Fowey estuary during the early 1961 period. The "Major Refit", prior to hitting her mid-career peak, she received a highly documented major refit.  This mechanical overhaul allowed her to safely deepen and clear channels down to 7 metres below chart datum.

The Wyre Marine Era (2003–2014)

The most substantial alterations to her physical superstructure and primary machinery occurred after the Fowey Harbour Commissioners (FHC) initially sold her in 2003. FHC had deemed that the vessel required too much investment to remain in service under their ownership. She was bought by Wyre Marine Services and operated out of Fleetwood, where they performed extensive modernizing updates, the crew living quarters and wheelhouse configuration were entirely modified to meet more modern maritime standards. A specialized mechanical swing shovel (excavator arm) was retrofitted onto the deck. This fundamentally changed her profile, allowing for more flexible, targeted grab-dredging in tight configurations compared to her original legacy crane setup.

Dredger Lantic bay going upriver

Homebound Restoration (2014)

In 2014, Fowey Harbour Commissioners faced escalating fees from outside third-party dredging contractors. Realizing they needed a nimble vessel capable of clearing the tight confines of local leisure areas and creeks, FHC purchased the Lantic Bay back. She underwent a comprehensive re-coding and maintenance dry-docking to ensure compliance with modern UK workboat codes, allowing her to successfully resume her historic service in Cornwall.