Bring on the river-lution!

Photo: PLA Chief Executive Robin Mortimer speaking at the International Maritime Hub.

Photo credit: Marc Turner

Robin Mortimer, chief executive of the Port of London Authority (PLA), is looking forward to the tidal River Thames playing its part in delivering Net Zero.

It’s transport day at COP26, and I am feeling optimistic.

There’s no room for complacency, but the mood in Glasgow at the International Maritime Hub, which I attended last week, was extremely positive.

One particularly engaged participant was the Belgian prime minister Alexander Croo.

His country is a key partner for the UK in research on how to best to reduce maritime carbon emissions.

Recently confirmed as the UK’s biggest port by volume, for the first time in over two decades, London is leading the way.

The PLA heads a consortium, supported by Government, working to establish a national Hydrogen Highway, integrating land, sea and port.

This includes trials at Denton Wharf in Kent to establish the business case for vessels on the Thames powered by hydrogen.

Our work with Royal HaskoningDHV to model future energy use on the Thames, in response to climate change, is essential to ensure that the port remains competitive in the long term.

Feasibility studies are also planned by Uber Boat by Thames Clippers and Cory to develop the vessels that can make Net Zero possible on the river.

Actions not words

We recognise the need to practice what we preach.

Thanks to funding from the Cross River Partnership, work is underway to reduce nitrogen oxide emissions from Driftwood II, one of our river maintenance vessels.

As part of our air quality strategy, the first to be produced by a UK port, we also offer incentives to larger visiting vessels to exceed the minimum required environmental standard.

Additionally, our Thames Green Scheme encourages operators to improve the sustainability of their fleet.

Later this month, in partnership with Thames Marine Services, we will take our first bulk delivery of lower-emission biofuels at Royal Terrace Pier, near our Gravesend headquarters.

Barrier Gardens Pier in Woolwich will follow suit in December, as part of a major refurbishment to make our operations there safer, quieter and greener.”

Freight opportunity

Meanwhile, significant progress is being made towards the Thames Vision goal of increasing the volume of freight carried on the river.

The importance of this is underlined in the Centre for London’s new report (Worth the Wait: Making London’s Deliveries Green and Smarter).

Tideway, the company building London’s much-needed ‘super sewer’, has blazed a trail on “more by river”.

So far, five million tonnes of material for the project have been transported by river, saving 600,000 HGV journeys and 14,816 tons of carbon dioxide emissions.

Others are making a difference too, also aided by our work over decades to ensure the river did not lose its protected wharves.

Roof parts for Fulham FC’s new stand, for example arrived in the capital by barge from Tilbury.

As the economy changes post the pandemic, getting more light freight onto the river is a major opportunity.

This summer’s trial by CEVA Logistics and Livett’s Launches to ferry medical goods twice a day from Dartford to Guy's & St Thomas' Hospital has been a success.

More initiatives to utilise the river for the delivery of goods ordered online are in the pipeline too.

No plain sailing

It would be wrong of me to suggest greening the river will be easy or quick.

Restoring passenger numbers on the river to pre-covid levels is a pressing challenge, for example.

But we are committed to doing all we can to decarbonise the economy of the river.

The Thames has shaped London’s past and can shape its future too.