Tavibo (YT-276)
1942-1946
A Paiute chief in Nevada, famed as a medicine man, who died circa 1870.
(YT-276: displacement 240; length 104'0"; beam 27'0"; draft 11'6"; speed 13.0 knots; complement 10)
The steel-hulled steam tug Thomas A. Meseck -- built at Newburgh, N.Y., by Harry A. Marvel; & Co. -- was acquired by the Navy at New York City on 27 June 1942 from the Meseck Towing Co.; was renamed Tavibo on 4 July 1942; was designated YT-276; and was placed in service in the Third Naval District on that same day.
On 15 May 1944, Tavibo was redesignated YTB-276, harbor tug (big). She operated in the New York area until 30 August 1946 when she was placed out of service. Tavibo was stricken from the Naval Register on 13 December 1946 and transferred to the Maritime Administration on 9 July 1947 for disposal.
Her former owners resumed operating her as Thomas A. Meseck. She retained that name until she was acquired by Moran Towing, of New York, six years later, becoming Elizabeth Moran in 1953. Acquired by the Baker-Whiteley Towing Co. of Baltimore, Md., two years later, she was then renamed Brittania, retaining that name when the McAllister Towing firm bought Baker-Whiteley in 1980. Ultimately, the hardy harbor craft was scrapped at Sparrows Point, Md., in 2005.
Updated, Robert J. Cressman
21 June 2023
