J Butcher & Sons Ltd cease trading

The family firm had roots going back to 1809 as Licensed Watermen and Foy boatmen, the latter meaning boats and men available to give assistance to shipping.

In its heyday J Butcher & Sons Ltd provided a wide range of services to civilian ships of all sizes using the docks and mooring in Portsmouth Commercial port. Traditionally their services included towage assistance and mooring ships, and the transportation of personnel and stores to ships using anchorages in the Solent area and off the Isle of Wight.

Towage was originally undertaken using launches and motor boats, some of which doubled as passenger launches used for Portsmouth Harbour tours. The company vigorously defended its ancient rights to operate in the port as licensed local watermen. All of the craft were painted in the well known blue and white livery and were always remarkably smart.

The boats were operated from Portsmouth’s historic Camber, where the company had offices, moorings, a slipway and workshop facilities. It was to those facilities the craft returned when not in use to be maintained to a very high standard and with considerable attention to detail.

As Portsmouth Commercial port developed, handling general cargo and imported fruit, the size of ships increased. To meet the new demands, J Butcher & Sons gradually increased the size and power of their workboats and the number of craft employed.

In 1995 the first substantial tug/workboat Gary James, a StanTug 1605, was purchased from Damen shipyards which at the time of its introduction was a quantum improvement in the assistance provided. As demand continued to increase a similar vessel of the same type, with slightly more power, the Jack James, was introduced in 2002.

In spite of introducing the two more powerful tug/workboats, in recent years the company experienced a serious decline in many of the other peripheral services, including passenger traffic on the various harbour trips. The latter, which originally included the operation of harbour trips from a portable jetty on Southsea beach, suffered badly from poor weather conditions in the holiday seasons and was withdrawn.

The increasing size of commercial ships has continued to be an issue for the company. Mr Colin Butcher, grandson of the founder James Butcher, the last of the family to inherit the business along with his sons Gary and Paul, decided they could no longer continue. Mr Butcher explained to Maritime Journal that they could not contemplate the high level of investment reguired to introduce the new tugs necessary to continue the work. When the firm closed earlier in the year five workboats and other vessels were offered for sale.

Towage services in the Portsmouth Commercial port are now provided by vessels from the Serco fleet stationed nearby as a requirement of the company’s marine services contract with the MOD (Navy).

By Jack Gaston