Official Number:                      181893                                                                        

Class:                                      Lubricating Oil Lighter

Pennant No:

Laid down:                              1948
Builder:                                   Rowhedge Iron Works Co Ltd, Rowhedge
Launched:                               11 November 1947 
Into Service:                            April 1948
Out of service:
Fate:

Items of historic interest involving this ship: –

Background Data:   Naval Stores harbour craft were usually allocated a number bearing the prefix C. This descended from the days when the Coaling Officer operated the fuelling craft and many of these craft were operated by the Naval Stores Department under the Director of Stores (Navy) C numbers were allocated to craft such as dumb barges, coal lighters, dumb coal lighters, self-propelled diesel lighters, self-propelled stores lighters, launches and tugs of which a number were registered as RFA’s and wore the ‘green stripe’ that indicated the Naval Stores Department

11 November 1947  launched by  Rowhedge Iron Works Co Ltd., Rowhedge as Yard Nr:     named  C653 for the Naval Stores Department

April 1948 completed

10 February 1950 the Dover Express newspaper reported –

24 October 1950 passed Dover

2 March 1953 arrived the River Tyne from Rosyth

3 March 1953 sailed from the River Tyne

12 April 1954 passed the Lloyds Signal Station at Dover sailing east bound

21 June 1954 passed the Lloyds Signal Station at Dover sailing west bound

19 October 1954 arrived at Dover – sheltering

26 March 1956 passed the Lloyds Signal Station at Dover sailing west bound

6 June 1958 sailed from Chatham Dockyard into the River Medway

15 June 1959 passed the Lloyds Signal Station on Flamorough Head sailing south bound

29 September 1959 entered Chatham Dockyard from the River Medway

6 September 1960 sailed from Chatham Dockyard into the River Medway

7 December 1960 entered Chatham Dockyard from the River Medway

8 February 1961 entered Chatham Dockyard from the River Medway

15 February 1961 sailed from Chatham Dockyard into the River Medway

1 March 1961 on the River Tyne the m.v. Volvula broke adrift in a storm. She was carried 4 miles down the river hitting and damaging RFA WAVE PRINCE and RFA C653

MV Volvula

3 July 1961 sailed from Chatham Dockyard into the River Medway

3 November 1961 entered Chatham Dockyard from the River Medway

3 September 1963 entered Chatham Dockyard from the River Medway

16 December 1964 entered Chatham Dockyard from the River Medway

11 January 1965 sailed from Chatham Dockyard ino the River Medway

31 October 1965 sailed from Chatham Dockyard into the River Medway

1968 believed sold out of service

6 May 1970  sailed from Chatham Dockyard into the River Medway

19 July 2007 was at Gravesend, Kent