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The replica was built by local shipyard apprentices in 1961/2 to mark the 150th anniversary of the launch of the original PS Comet on 24th July 1812. On 2nd September 1962, she sailed under steam from Port Glasgow to Helensburgh (home of Henry Bell, owner of the original PS Comet) with a dozen local dignitaries on board.

On her return from Helensburgh she was removed from the water and kept in storage in a local shipyard. When the A8 road was realigned in the mid 1970s, the replica was placed in an ornamental pond in a car park opposite Port Glasgow Town hall.

The road was realigned again in 2007 and a new plinth was provided close to the original location. In 2010, she was removed to Ferguson's shipyard in the town for much needed remedial work and she was returned to her present location in pristine condition on 5th June 2011. Unfortunately it was not feasible to restore the engine as it would have entailed complete dismantling of the ship.

Comet was the first commercially successful steam ship in Europe. She was built by John Wood of Port Glasgow for Henry bell of Helensburgh and she plied her trade on the River Clyde between Greenock and Glasgow, occasionally venturing out via the Crinan Canal to Oban. Comet was wrecked at Craignish Point, near Oban, on 13 December 1820. One of her engines (by John Robertson of Neilston Link ) can be seen in the Science Museum in London.

2020 update: The ship is in a very poor state of repair and the local newspaper, the Greenock Telegraph, reports that she has been "condemned" following a survey by a naval architect which was commissioned by Inverclyde Council.

2023 update: The ship was scrapped in April 2023. The engine and paddles were removed to storage and the wood was cut into small pieces and removed in vans to be dumped.

Created: Tue, 17 Jan 2012, Updated: Fri, 14 Apr 2023