SS City of Singapore was torn apart by fire and explosions at Number 2 Quay Port Adelaide on 26 April 1924: four firemen were killed and many injured. The explosion blasted metal through adjacent sheds and the wharf, road metal was torn up. Internally the ship's hull buckled and the bulwarks were warped in the intense heat of the fire. The ship was written off, stripped of salvagable items and towed to the North Arm of the Port River where it was expected it would remain.

London engineers WJ and ST Russell bought the wreck and arranged for it to be towed to the Netherlands. Two ocean-going tugs Vlaanderen and Willem Barrendz undertook the tow after the City of Singapore had been braced internally with steel girders. They left 11 April 1925, almost a year since the ship had arrived in Port Adelaide. After an eventful towing job, in which the ship had to be cut loose during a violent storm in the Indian Ocean, City of Singapore reached Rotterdam after a five month tow. It was extensively repaired and re-purchased by the original owners. City of Singapore was torpedoed and sunk 1 May 1943 while on convoy from India to England. The ship sank, but all crew were saved.