S.A. Wolraad Woltemade

1976

From 1967 - 1975, the Suez Canal was closed as a result of the Arab-Israeli war. Oil tankers were forced to take the long route from the Gulf to Europe around the Cape of Good Hope, a much choppier route than through the Mediterranean. To assist tankers in distress, two new tugboats were commissioned, the SA John Ross (built in Durban) and the SA Wolraad Woltemade, built by the Robb Caledon shipyard in Leith. When launched, the pair held the record for the world’s most powerful tugs.

Robb Caledon was formed from the merger of the Henry Robb Shipyard in Leith and the Caledon Shipbuilding & Engineering Company of Dundee in 1968. It built ships in Leith until its eventual closure in 1981.