Oxy-acetylene blow torches

had to be used in an Appledore shipyard on Thursday week to free the launching mechanism of ice before a new tug, the Pollux, slid down the runway.

The Pollux was launched at the yard of Messrs P K Harris and Sons, and before she took the water the blow torches were used to melt the ice which had collected between the sliding way on which the ship rested and the fixed way.

The naming ceremony was performed by Mrs C J Mill, wife of the managing director of the Overseas Towage and Salvage Co. Ltd of London, the owners of the Britonia, the 142ft long tug, which was launched from the same yard on Friday and also named by Mrs Mill.

Image from VesselFinder.com

The full Gazette article is dated 18 January 1963