In December 1946, after the navy had decommissioned and stripped HMNZS Philomel, the ship's hulk was sold for scrap to the Strongman Shipping Co. Ltd. The company towed the hulk from Devonport to Coromandel where it was run aground so that it could be completely stripped of steel, timber and any remaining fittings. Much of the wood was used to construct a small coasted trading vessel named Coromel – a combination of Coromandel and Philomel.
The remains of the Philomel were towed to a spot east of Curvier Island on 6 August 1949. There the ship's seafaring life came to end following the detonation of a 4-kg explosive device placed in the bow.
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