Ross Tiger is a traditional side-winder fishing trawler that was converted into a museum ship in 1992. She is currently berthed in Alexandra Dock at her home port of Grimsby, close to the site of the former PS Lincoln Castle. She forms the star attraction of North East Lincolnshire County Council's National Fishing Heritage Centre since restored and opened to the public in 1992. As Grimsby's last traditional sidewinder 'conventional trawler', she represents a now virtually extinct breed of vessels that once made up the largest fishing fleet in the world. She is a member of the National Register of Historic Vessels with certificate number 621. History Ross Tiger, GY398, is North East Lincolnshire's memorial to the history of the Port of Grimsby. The town today has thriving industry and is, according to ABP,'Chief vehicle-handling centre of the North, handling almost 400,000 vehicles annually' with ships up to 6000 dwt However, Grimsby will always be associated with its terrific history. With Victorian docks once the envy of the nation, Grimsby was famed for its great fishing fleet. Fishing from the port of Grimsby goes back as far as Grim, the Danish fisherman who founded the town, and her trawlers were a permanent feature of one of the busiest waterways in the British Isles – the River Humber. During World War II, Grimsby became the largest base for minesweepers in Britain, with the trawlers and motor minesweepers clearing 34,858 mines from the North Sea lanes. The brave men of the Royal Naval Patrol Service used peacetime fishing vessels to venture into known mine infested waters to sink mines and hunt submarines. When the trawlers returned to their fishing roles the fishing fleet grew along with the national demand for fish, with Grimsby rising to the title of the largest fishing port in the world. Ross Tiger (GY 398) was built to supply that demand. Grimsby was witness to the evolution of the fishing trawler. It saw the change from the early timber sailing vessels to the introduction of steam which revolutionised the fishing fleet. Steam allowed for powerful vessels to push ever further north and it was soon found that new steel steam trawler design had to evolve further to cope with the extreme environments the ships were required to encounter; the traditional 'bridge aft side' design of trawler was lost to ships with a hardy sleek steel wheelhouse amidships, the