USST 488, Small harbor tugboat in Port of Le Havre, France

The USST 488 is an 86 ft (26 m) harbor tugboat of the 327-A design, built of welded steel plates, moored on the quai Renaud in the Vauban basin next to the lightship Havre III. Its light gray hull carries the welded inscription USST488 on the port bow, with rust along the waterline, and the white superstructure has a dark side door, a gray exhaust stack, a lattice mast and a radar scanner. A 700 hp diesel turning at 350 rpm gives it a 6-tonne pull, and a winch sits on the foredeck with a capstan aft.

Built in 1944 by J.K. Welding & Co of Brooklyn as a 327-A small tug, ST-488 was shipped to Scotland, crossed the Channel in a convoy and reached Le Havre on 9 October 1944, joining the US Navy's 16th Port Group. It worked the port and the Mulberry floating docks at Arromanches until 1946. Sold in 1947 under the Marshall Plan, it served the port of Le Havre as ST 8 until 1989, was saved from scrapping in 1993 and became a museum ship in 1994, classified a Monument historique in 1997.

The boat shows how people worked in wartime ports and the daily reality of those who operated such vessels. Visitors can observe the cramped working spaces and tools that were essential to harbor operations.

The tugboat sits in the water and can be explored from the outside, especially during annual heritage days. Wear appropriate footwear since the area around the basin can be wet and slippery.

The tug is the only surviving example in France of the vast fleet the Allies built and used for naval operations in Europe during the Second World War. It lies on quai Renaud beside the lightship Havre III, and its association, founded in 1994, restored it with the Musée maritime.