Name Island Commander

ISLAND COMMANDER was built in 1912 as ANDREW KELLY, a steam fishing trawler, by Cochrane and Sons of Selby, North Yorkshire. She was built with a rivetted steel hull and with a triple expansion steam engine by C D Holmes & Co Ltd, Hull. 

She was originally owned by Atlin Construction C. Ltd and based in Grimsby, Lincolnshire. In 1914, she was owned by the Canadian Fishing Company of Prince Rupert, British Columbia, where she operated from throughout the North Pacific fishing halibut. In 1917 she rescued the tug COMMODORE and her tow, the sailing ship ST. DAVID. 

Between 1929 and 1933, ANDREW KELLY was owned by Canadian Fish and Cold Storage Co. Ltd. of Prince Rupert. In 1936, she was owned by Dominion Tug & Barge Co. Ltd. of Vancouver, British Columbia. At this point, she would have been converted into a dumb barge and used for salvage. In 1939, she was owned by Pacific Salvage Co. Ltd. of North Vancouver. In 1940, she was owned by Vancouver Dry Dock & Salvage Co. Ltd., and in 1941 by Island Tug & Barge of Victoria, British Columbia. 

It was at that point that she was converted to a tug, being fitted with a 500hp McIntosh & Seymour engine and named ISLAND COMMANDER. Between 1941 and 1944, she was chartered to the US Government for operations by the US Army Transportation Service in the Aleutian Islands. In 1946, she was responsible for towing the tall ship PAMIR out of the Strait of Juan de Fuca.

Still under ownership of Island Tug & Barge, ISLAND COMMANDER was fitted with an oil 6-cylinder McIntosh & Seymour Engine in 1947. In 1949, however, she ran aground on Trasher Rock, near Vancouver Island. In 1956, her owners rebuilt her as a salvage tug, fitting her with a 1200hp 8–cylinder Union diesel engine.

In 1971, she was purchased by Island Sea Marine Ltd., who owned her until 2014. During this time, in 1975, ISLAND COMMANDER was re-powered with her currently-fitted 1750hp 16–cylinder EMD GM–567 diesel engine.