On behalf of The Board and Staff of the Port of London Authority:

We are deeply saddened to learn of the death of Her Majesty, Queen Elizabeth II.

The Queen was a friend of, and visitor to the river over her long reign. The Thames, the royal river, hosted numerous events, including the River Pageant in 2012, marking Her Majesty’s Diamond Jubilee.

It was our privilege to maintain the royal barge, the Royal Nore for Her Majesty. The Nore was used during visits to the Thames for official events including: the official opening of the new London Bridge in March 1973; the Thames Barrier, in May 1984; the Millennium Dome in 1999; and the Millennium Footbridge in 2000.

Everyone at Port of London Authority expresses their condolences to the Royal Family at this sad time.

8 September 2022

Consultation with operators: 8 August 2022 – 9 September 2022

The Thames Tideway Tunnel (also known as the ‘super sewer’) is due to be operational in 2025, stemming the overflow of untreated sewage into the river after as little as 2mm of rainfall.

This will deliver the most radical improvement in the tidal Thames’ water quality in generations.

We are supporting this improvement by introducing a General Direction, with effect from 1 July 2024, banning the disposal of black water (i.e. sewage) into the tidal river by commercial vessels.

From 8 August 2022, a month-long consultation with operators will assess how best to implement this change.

It aims to establish the preferred way for alternative disposal options to be provided, where arrangements are not already in place.

We are mindful that to comply, vessel owners and operators, who do not already have provision in place for sewage disposal, will need access to a suitable disposal route.

Our objective is to capture any changes that may have occurred since our last consultation on this issue in 2015 and review progress on compliance made over the last seven years.

We specifically want to establish what additional facilities will be required and how they can best be provided.

The first-ever, high-capacity, electric, shore power station for vessels using the tidal Thames is due to come on stream next year, in a deal engineered by the Port of London Authority (PLA).

A PLA loan will enable Net Zero Marine Services (NZMS) to install the first charging point at West India Pier, with another set to follow in central London.

Over the next six months, NZMS will be working with the UK Power Networks to extend the capital’s electricity supply infrastructure to the river.

Using renewable sources of electricity, the charging points will also be available to power other plant and equipment using the river.

Robin Mortimer, PLA chief executive, said: “Hopefully the first of many, these new charging points are set to be a game changer for the tidal Thames.

“They are another major step forward in our work to decarbonise the river and deliver Net Zero.

“They also have the potential to help give the capital the edge over competitor ports around the world.

“To thrive, the Thames must remain a working river and play its part in protecting the planet, creating a better quality of life for everyone.

“The two must and can go hand in hand.”

NZMS director, Miles Cole, said: “These shore power facilities can significantly reduce diesel consumption by the river’s fleet and cut greenhouse gas emissions.

“They are essential for attracting more carbon-neutral, electric and hybrid vessels to the Thames, a fast-emerging market.

“They will play a key role in securing the continued prosperity of the river, benefiting all its users.”

The deal was brokered by the PLA’s head of commercial development, Glenda Frost, and head of legal, Ashleigh Evans.

Glenda Frost said: ”All involved have come to this deal with a flexible, can-do approach.

“It will hopefully be a catalyst for further green investment in the future of the tidal Thames by businesses and users who depend on it for a living.”

For further information, please contact:

PLA: [email protected]
NZMS: [email protected]

Tests have started to assess the effectiveness of equipment installed to cut air pollution emitted from Port of London Authority (PLA) vessel, Driftwood II.

Last month, students from University College London (UCL) visited the PLA’s marine operations hub in Denton, Gravesend, to monitor nitrogen oxide (NOx) levels from the vessel’s exhaust, following the fitting of selective catalytic reduction technology to her two propulsion engines and generator.

The gases collected by mechanical engineering PhD students, Sheng-Wei Wang and Chengfan Tang, will be now analysed in UCL’s laboratory, to measure the concentration of NOx and other air pollutants. The results will be compared with similar undertaken before the refit.

The vessel’s green upgrade has been co-financed by the Cross River Partnership, as part of Clean Air Thames supported by the Mayor’s Air Quality Fund and the City of London Corporation.

Dr Veronica Chan, the air quality lead in the PLA’s environment team, said: “The results of these tests will be an important guide to how our fleet and other vessels can contribute to reducing air pollution all along the tidal Thames.”

Limited space on board Driftwood II required a complete overhaul of the engine room. This included converting an unutilised chemical tank to a fuel tank.

Driftwood II is used to clear river debris and maintain moorings.

Another intake of trainee pilots have joined the Port of London Authority (PLA), to meet growing demands for their skills from vessels visiting the tidal Thames.

The four latest recruits are part of a 113-strong team of expert mariners, who guide ships from around up and down the Thames, which is now once again home to the UK’s busiest port. The river is also the country’s busiest inland waterway.

Last year, was the busiest ever for the PLA’s sea pilots. It saw them board almost 11,000 vessels navigating their way up and down the estuary, as trade recovered, following the COVID-19 lockdowns

Embarking on a five-year course to equip them for the specific challenges of navigating the Thames are:

• Ivaylo Bratovanov, who started his career in the Bulgarian navy. He progressed to become a roving master, working mainly on container vessels around the world. He now lives in Gravesend.
• Mario Di Costanzo: Born on the Isle of Ischia in Italy, Mario first took to sea working on the ferry linking Sete (France) to Palma de Mallorca in Spain. After graduating from nautical school, he worked on ro-ro, ferries and cruise ships sailing around the world, before moving to London to take up an office-based role in 2019. He’s based in Gravesend.
• Benjamin Heaton, who lives in Greenwich, worked for BP Shipping for seven years, before joining cruise line Carnival UK, where he rose to the rank of first officer, sailing predominantly in the Mediterranean and the Caribbean.
• Gareth Minter, from Sandwich, has sailed the globe as a Trinity House cadet at Warsash Maritime Academy, where he won the Matthew Flinders’ Navigation Award. He has worked in the offshore oil and gas industry, as well as the wind farm industry, sailing as chief officer.

The work of PLA pilots involves boarding and disembarking ships mid river, in all weathers and at all times of day and night, demanding a high level of training and safety awareness.

Dave Newbury, the PLA’s Pilotage Manager, said: “Since 2016, we have recruited 79 new trainee pilots, to ensure we can continue provide a robust service for customers, as demand on the river grows and older pilots retire.

“A further four new recruits are due to be appointed in 2022.”

In 2021, the PLA’s pilotage team delivered a 98.8 per cent service record to customers.

Pierview Academy in Gravesend welcomed staff from the Port of London Authority (PLA) for three interactive workshops, exploring careers on the tidal Thames.

Thanakorn Nopphawing and Rachel De Bont, from the PLA’s HR team, explained some of the skills required to work in the river, and harbour master Tim MacQuillin gave a demonstration of navigational chart reading skills.

Pierview Academy is an alternative learning provider, for 11 to 25-year olds, who have struggled in other education settings.

Kelly Butler, the academy’s operations manager, said: “Often employers do not understand the skills and abilities of our young people and see only disability. The PLA team saw diversity."

Nicky Sutherland, careers leader, added: “Students and staff enjoyed the sessions. Feedback received from parents and carers was positive too.”

Rachel De Bont said: “It was good to see the pupils and teachers alike taking such a close interest in the tidal Thames and how they can help shape its future.”

Tower Hamlets Canoe Club is helping visually impaired paddlers (VIPs) take to the capital’s waterways, with the help of Active Thames, founded by the Port of London Authority (PLA).

The Active Thames grant, also supported by British Canoeing and London Sport, has so far funded 14 free induction sessions introducing VIPs to kayaking and canoeing at the club, based in Shadwell Basin.

Alex Etherington-Smith, who runs the programme at the club, is hoping it will become a permanent fixture and inspire others to follow suit.

He commented: “In 2019, I watched an amazing video of blind kayakers going through massive rapids in the Grand Canyon. It inspired me to think about whether my club could include blind and visually impaired paddlers too.

“I have blind friends and know how capable they are in new situations and environments, often needing less assistance than you’d think.

"The Active Thames grant has helped start a programme aimed specifically at a particular community, who are not normally offered the opportunity to do regular kayaking and canoeing."

Fellow volunteer, Ingo Wickenhauser, said: “I have been amazed to see VIPs’ resourcefulness and determination in overcoming their individual disabilities to participate in the club’s activities.

The VIPs themselves are loving the opportunity to get active on the water. One said: "I absolutely love it. We’re learning things properly, really getting to grips with how to move the boat. Being on the water really makes me happy.”

Another described it as “a life-changing experience”, with a third praising the positive atmosphere at the club.

Jenny Cooper, the PLA’s Sports Manager, said: 

“The Tower Hamlets volunteers are doing a brilliant job, making their club more inclusive.

“It’s great to see so many VIPs signing up as members, so they can enjoy paddling all year round – it’s exactly the sort of project Active Thames was set up to support. “

Every Tuesday, volunteers guide the VIPs between the club and local stations.

Each VIP is paired with a trained coach, starting on land with how to get and in and out of a boat, providing visual cues on the surroundings.

Lights, such as head torches, boost partially sighted participants’ ability to navigate on the water.

Entirely blind paddlers are guided by their coach’s voice. A likely next step is a speaker playing music on the boat ahead, to guide them.

Metro Blind Sport and the RNIB have helped promote the initiative to the local blind community, stressing that their friends and guide dogs would be welcome at the club too.

Half of the club’s initial VIPs are preparing for their first Thames excursion, buying the required equipment and taking part in safety drills. One has already joined sighted club members on a canal day trip.

Find out more about Active Thames.

To mark Father’s Day (19 June), a father-son duo from Kent has been charting what inspires them both to work for the Port of London Authority (PLA) keeping the tidal river’s larger, visiting vessels safe.

David (Dave) Hocking (right) and his son, also called David, are part of a 100-strong PLA team boarding ships mid-river - around the clock and in all weathers - to guide them in and out of the UK’s biggest port.

Following in the footsteps of his father three decades earlier, David junior joined the PLA as a trainee pilot in February 2022.

David senior, whose father ran an ice cream manufacturing company in Appledore in Devon and served with the Fleet Air Arm during the war, started his maritime career in 1975 as a deck cadet with Blue Star Line, trading around the world. He left in 1986 having qualified as a Master Mariner.

Recently married, he came ashore to work on the Bideford to Lundy Island supply ship, then as a pilot on the River Torridge, before moving up to Kent to further his career on the River Thames as a “sea” pilot.

Like his son thirty years later, this required him to travel way out into the estuary, to board ships negotiating the more-than-occasionally stormy waters of the Thames.

Now working as a “river” pilot, his focus is the more inland, narrower stretch of the river, between Gravesend and Putney Bridge, involving much shorter call-out times

He takes particular pride in his work supporting visits to London undertaken by naval vessels and other high-profile ships, for example during the 2012 London Olympics and celebrations marking the D Day landings.

Sea pilots’ shift patterns – which involve being on 24-hour rolling roster of nine days on and six days off - shaped much of the Hocking family’s life while the children were growing up in Pluckley.

David junior was 11 when he first shadowed his father on a job escorting a cruise ship into the centre of London, but opted to keep his career options till he had got ‘A’ levels in Maths, Physics and Geography under his belt.

His working life afloat started in 2010 as a Trinity House trainee deck cadet, gaining experience on vessels around the world, including passenger vessels and Caribbean banana boats, destined for Portsmouth.

On qualifying, he worked as a deck officer on aggregate dredgers around Europe, predominantly on the Thames.

The pair are united in their love of the River Thames.

David junior said:

“A real perk of the job is seeing the river at its most beautiful, particularly at dawn and dusk, when all is quiet.

“The views make the early starts and irregular hours more than worth it.

“There is also a special camaraderie between the pilots who work on the river and the wider maritime community, which I really enjoy.”

David senior said:

“A love for working on rivers in general, and especially the Thames, is often said to be in the blood.

“That certainly seems to be the case for my son, but I can highly recommend a career as a pilot to any young person thinking about what they want to do in life.”

Reflecting on the COVID-19 pandemic, David senior said: “The challenges of the last two years have been unprecedented in my lifetime.

“We are all proud to have sustained our keeping the capital, and the wider country supplied with key goods such as fuel, food and medical supplies.”

Since 2016, the PLA has recruited 79 new trainee pilots to ensure it can continue provide a robust service for customers, as demand on the river grows and older pilots retire. David Hocking junior is one of 14 new pilots being recruited this year.