Marking International Day for Women in Maritime (18 May), we put the spotlight on three women in very different roles on the tidal Thames.

Our latest People of the Thames profile features Audrey Hughes, manager of City Cruises’ operations at Westminster Pier.

Audrey says: “The river often comes across as a man’s world. Old ways of doing things are slow to change in some quarters, but I think that progress has been made in recent years.

“I manage a wonderful, diverse and multi-cultural team of 13. Only three of them are men.

“City Cruises also has one Thames jet captain, who is female, along with a number of our apprentices."

In filmed interviews, Ventzislava Gunton, hatch foreman at DP World London Gateway, and Amber Hurn, a GIS assistant in our hydrography department, offer their perspectives on what needs to be done to address the sector’s gender imbalance.

Ventzislava commented: “There needs to be more education on the fact that women have a place in this industry in any role that they choose to do.”

Amber’s advice to women considering a maritime career is “Go for it! There is a wide support network available to help."

Katherine Riggs, chief executive of the Thames Skills Academy, said: “The maritime sector has historically been male-dominated, but more and more women are coming aboard.

“Attracting, retaining and developing more women to follow careers on the Thames is crucial to the future success of the river.

“It’s vital we recruit from the full talent pool available.”

If you’d like to learn about the #WomenOnTheWater Thames network, contact Katherine Riggs at the Thames Skills Academy ([email protected]).

In a first for UK ports, the Port of London Authority (PLA) and University College of London (UCL) have launched a fully electric, remotely operated survey vessel.

It will support a MSc Hydrographic Surveying course they have run in partnership since 1999.

The state-of-the-art platform, manufactured by MARITIME ROBOTICS, was acquired by the partners, following a successful bid and award of an £263,000 grant from the Engineering & Physical Sciences Research Council (EPSRC).

The vessel features the most advanced sonar and scanning system from technology manufacturer, NORBIT, called a WINGHEAD. This facilitates unparalleled collection of data to create detailed maps of the riverbed, and structures, such as bridges, jetties and shipwrecks that need to be surveyed and inspected to ensure accurate information for safety of navigation or maintenance.

The platform will facilitate PLA and UCL research in coastal morphology, carbon reduction, habitat mapping and other areas of education and development in the sphere of maritime safety, autonomy, and robotics.

Due to its small size and manoeuvrability, the remote platform can be deployed in situations where traditional survey vessels would be impractical or unsafe, such as shallow waters, or close inshore or around and under marine structures. Its battery- powered electric thrusters provide a much more environmentally-friendly solution than traditional marine diesel or petrol engines.

The tidal Thames is home to the UK’s port and busiest inland waterway; accurate and regularly updated riverbed data is essential to safe navigation. The PLA’s port hydrographer, John Dillon-Leetch, said:

“We’re delighted to lead the way in launching this remote surveying vessel with UCL.

“Not only does it feature the latest in innovation, thanks to NORBIT’s multibeam technology, but it also enables our hydrographers to survey in previously inaccessible areas, safely and sustainably. This aligns with two of our goals in our Thames Vision 2050 strategy, launched last year.”

The remote surveying vessel has been trialled in London’s Royal Docks and at the PLA’s Richmond Lock and Weir, by UCL’s latest cohort of international MSC students supported by the PLA Hydrographic Service Team.

Since 1999, the PLA’s Hydrography team have worked in partnership with UCL Civil, Environmental and Geomatics Engineering (CEGE) to deliver the International Hydrographic Organisation (IHO) accredited Category A MSc in Geospatial Science, Hydrographic Surveying. The only CAT A accredited course in the UK, supporting the education of future hydrographic surveyors from around the world.

UCL CEGE’s lecturer in marine geospatial science, Dr Cassandra Nanlal, explains:

"Our partnership with the PLA enables us to offer an unrivalled field course experience with a world-leading hydrography team, including use of cutting-edge equipment, such as this remote surveying vessel.

“Our international students will be able to take their experience and knowledge to all parts of the world, to help elevate the standards within the industry. This platform will facilitate interdisciplinary research at UCL with collaborations between CEGE, UCL Mechanical Engineering and UCL Geography, in alignment with the UCL Research Strategy.”

John Fraser from NORBIT commented: “We are proud to support PLA and UCL with this project which demonstrates the importance of both technical innovation and practical application.”

The emergence and growing importance of remote and autonomous surveying vessels signify a paradigm shift in the hydrographic surveying industry.

By providing a safer, more efficient, versatile, and sustainable solution for underwater data collection, these vessels will transform the way the surveyors of the future map and analyse data of the world’s riverbeds and ocean floors as well as paving the way for a more technologically driven and sustainable future in maritime operations.

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The Port of London Authority (PLA)

Covering 95 miles of the tidal River Thames, the Port of London Authority (PLA) works to keep commercial and leisure users safe, protects and enhances the environment and promotes the use of the river for trade and travel. As a trust port, the PLA has no shareholders and operates for the benefit of customers and stakeholders, now and in the future.

UCL Department of Civil Environmental and Geomatics Engineering (CEGE)

UCL Civil, Environmental & Geomatic Engineering (CEGE) is dedicated to creating engineering solutions for a sustainable future, fuelled by creativity, collaboration, and communication that drive social impact. Our department takes pride in its substantial EPSRC research portfolio and extensive academic portfolio in civil engineering, which offers the world leading IBSC CAT A accredited Hydrographic Surveying MSc — the sole programme of its kind in the United Kingdom.

UCL Civil, Environmental & Geomatic Engineering (www.ucl.ac.uk/civil-environmental-geomatic-engineering)

NORBIT Subsea

NORBIT Subsea designs and develops wideband multibeam sonars for hydrographic applications, forward-looking applications as well as advanced subsea monitoring. Our solutions are based on the latest in analogue and digital signal processing and our products provide wide coverage combined with high sensitivity and accuracy. Subsea is part of the segment Oceans in NORBIT ASA.

NORBIT Subsea (www.norbit.com/subsea)

The speaker line-up for this year’s British Ports Association (BPA) conference features experts in key sector priorities, including the energy transition, port safety and diversity.

Hosted by the Port of London Authority (PLA), the event will run from 17 October to 19 October 2023, at the Leonardo Royal London, Tower Bridge. It is expected to attract up to 400 delegates from across UK ports and maritime, providing a forum for debating key sector trends, keeping up with the latest technology developments and networking.

Invited speakers include the new Maritime & Coastguard Agency chief executive, Virginia McVea; Department for Transport’s Maritime Director Petra Wilkinson; and Graeme Leach, chief economist at Macronomics. The closing keynote on climate adaptation is expected to be from chair of the independent Climate Change Committee, Lord Deben.

International panellists are set to include: Mike Gallacher, Ports Australia; Flemming Dalgaard, AP Moller Capital; Isabelle Ryckbost, European Sea Ports Organisation; and Patrick Verhoeven, International Association of Ports and Harbors.

Commenting on the evolving conference programme, PLA director of corporate affairs, Alistair Gale, said:

“We’re gathering a fantastic array of speakers from the UK and overseas to provide the perfect one stop event you’ll need to catch up with the latest developments in ports and maritime. Booking for the conference will assure you of great speakers and unrivalled insights. Alongside this is a busy programme of hosted receptions, with a gala dinner on the last evening.”

The PLA will be offering delegates opportunity to get afloat to tour the UK’s largest port and busiest inland waterway as part of the programme too.

Richard Ballantyne, chief executive of the British Ports Association, said:

“We are extremely excited and looking forward to this must-attend event for the ports industry. This will be an unrivalled event this year for the sector, bringing together a wide range of representatives from the UK and international ports community as well as a host of other speakers from the wider business community.”

Early bird booking options for the conference end on 31 May 2023 and there are just eight exhibition stands left. To find out more and register to attend, please visit: British Ports Association Conference – 2023 Event (bpa2023.com).

An investment of £17,400 from Active Thames, a partnership programme led by the Port of London Authority (PLA), has supported the development of eleven young people’s coaching skills, through the East London Instructor Programme.

Headed by the Deptford-based charity AHOY Centre, this will combat the shortage of dinghy sailing instructors across London and support people into coaching who might not otherwise have been able to afford to do so. Funding from the PLA and RYA Together Fund have supported this project.

Previously, people have had to travel to the coast to get qualified as there are so few providers offering the training in London. This has added extra costs for young people, who may already have been struggling to finance the course. Instructors are paramount for charities like The AHOY Centre, who run community sailing and rowing projects, and always want to get more people active on the water.

Of the eleven who took part in the Easter course, three passed on assessment day and the remaining eight agreed action plans with their instructors so that they can retake the assessment again in the coming weeks, hopefully qualifying in time for summer sailing activities.

Zak Riat, chief instructor from The AHOY Centre said:

“The AHOY Centre is right on the river, we have good kit and equipment, and we have lots of people wanting to get on the water. However, we’re a small team and often short on having enough freelance and in-house instructors available to deliver sessions. This creates a bottleneck on our ability to deliver our community programmes, so this new programme will help change that.”

The qualifications gained from the programme are Powerboat Level 2, RYA First Aid, RYA Safe and Fun, and RYA Level 2 sailing which was run at Docklands Sailing and Watersports Centre, with support from their instructors too.

Participants had varied levels of experience, from competitive sailors to assistant coaches wanting to make a step up, as well as those had simply enjoyed sailing with their school.

Amber-Rose Bains, an AHOY apprentice who took part in the programme said:

“Personally, my sailing skills shot up during the course. My sailing has always been good, but this course gave me confidence in my own skills and abilities. It was a lot of fun as well as learning new skills.”

Commenting on the programme, Dan O’Sullivan fundraising manager from the AHOY said:

“This has been new and exciting for us. We are confident in our standards and that we can deliver in partnership with others. We’re keen to work in collaboration to have as much impact as possible across London and would love to run this course annually, to the benefit of AHOY and other sites.”

For more information about The AHOY Centre and the work they do, visit www.ahoy.org.uk

To find out about Active Thames and activities in your area, visit https://activethames.co.uk/

For 17 years Thames Lens has encouraged non-professional photographers to get out and explore the River Thames through a creative lens. We have four distinct categories, each of which speak to different facets of the river that all offer different potential.

Prizes include River Roamer tickets each courtesy of Uber Boat by Thames Clippers, spots on walks with London Streets Photography, and much more.

Deadline: Friday 12 January 2024

The winners will be chosen by a panel comprised of representatives from Thames Festival Trust, Port of London Authority, and Artist and Curator, Kate Coe.

“This is a great competition. It can be something you tackle soon, as the hot summer runs through, or you can pause and come to the Thames’ banks in cooler times when autumnal colours abound. Whenever you choose to come, show us the Thames through your eyes, through your lens. This year, we are keen to see how the Trading Thames can be captured and reflected too, so get busy, look for the story of the UK’s largest port and busiest inland waterway and share it!” -- Alistair Gale Director of Corporate Affairs, Strategy & Thames Vision

• Categories
  Architecture: The Thames is lined by and covered with iconic architectural buildings including Brutalist Royal Festival Hall, Tower Bridge’s Gothic Revival and Isambard Brunel’s Tunnel Shaft. This incredible range is something that makes the Thames such a joy to photograph. Enter this category and focus on the interaction between these buildings and bridges have with the River Thames.
• Landscape: The stunning landscapes of the River are a sight to behold – with completely different dramatic views offered as the Thames curves and winds its way from West to East. Capture wide shots of the River that runs through London and the outskirts and show off just how incredible the views can be.
  Nature: The River Thames is home to hundreds of species of fish and having been considered biologically dead is now seeing a resurgence of animal and plant activity. Seals, birds, and more love to call the Thames their home, so head East and West to photograph these inhabitants.
• People & the River: One of the factors that makes the Thames so vibrant is how people interact with it on different levels. From calling it home, to using it for water sports, and even working on it – people bring the river to life: the perfect subject for a photo.
• Working River: London is home to the UK’s largest port, helping to make the Thames the busiest river in England for transporting freight, and for passengers, both seeing the sights and commuting to work. These industries are vital for London’s economy and form an important part of the Thames’ rich river tapestry.

Please read the Terms and Conditions carefully before entering

“We are thrilled that our annual Thames Lens competition attracts hundreds of submissions, and we are always surprised and delighted by the extraordinary diverse ways in which photographers respond to this great river of ours as it flows through our capital city. Long may the Thames be a source of inspiration and joy for us all!” -- Adrian Evans, Director, Thames Festival Trust

The hidden efforts of Port of London Authority (PLA) workers to protect and champion the tidal Thames were praised by Dartford, MP Gareth Johnson, on a visit to the river (29 April).

Talking points during the trip included the Thames Vision 2050., the PLA-led strategy, which aims to ensure the river thrives economically, socially and environmentally, with safety of all river users always a key priority.

Among the other topics discussed were the Thames Freeport, the development of London Gateway’s fourth berth, Tilbury2, the Lower Thames Crossing and the latest developments along the Dartford river front.

Mr Johnson commented: "PLA staff work tirelessly to ensure the river is used to its full potential.

“It was fascinating to get on the water and see this first-hand.

“Much of the PLA’s work, including regularly scanning of the riverbed and structures in and alongside the river, is vital.

“This 'unseen' activity, which most people don't even know goes on, ensures that the ships and boats using river and the businesses based alongside the Thames can go about their daily business."

John Stevenson, head of government relations at the PLA, said: ”The Thames Estuary is a hive of activity, with many new developments in and around the Dartford logistics hub.

“It was great to showcase our operations and continue our work with Gareth and his team.”