Live Tides
NOTICES TO MARINERS
Charts & Surveys
Incident reporting
Life-threatening emergencies on the river:
Call 999 and ask for the Coastguard
For near miss, safety observations and incident reporting click below
The Port of London Authority (PLA) was created to bring order to the chaos and congestion that prevailed on the Thames as rival wharfs, docks and river users battled for business in the late 1800s.
After years of debate, the Bill that led to the creation of the PLA was introduced by David Lloyd George in April 1908; the challenge of guiding it through the House fell to his successor, Winston Churchill. The Bill received Royal Assent as the Port of London Act, 1908, in December 1908 and the Port of London Authority came into being in March 1909.
Port of London Act 1968 (as amended)
This is an updated version of the original Port of London Act 1968 as at January 2014.
It does not contain any changes made pursuant to the Port of London Authority (Constitution) Harbour Revision Order 2015. Save in respect of the 2015 Harbour Revision Order, every effort has been made to ensure that this updated version of the 1968 Act reflects the current position. However the original sources must be consulted where complete accuracy of the wording is required.
This version will be updated from time to time. Any inaccuracies found should be reported to the Port of London Authority.
A few notes have been inserted to assist the reader trace original sources, meanings or cross references, but where acts or orders are referred to these are constantly changing and the notes will, from time to time, be out of date.
The reader should carry out their own research as to whether the acts or orders referred to are still in force and still applicable.
The complete Port of London Act 1968 (as amended) is available to download as a PDF:
or for the specific sections click below:
Sections
COVER AND CONTENTS
PART I PRELIMINARY Sections 1-2
PART II CONSTITUTION OF THE PORT AUTHORITY Sections 3-4
PART III DUTIES AND GENERAL POWERS OF THE PORT AUTHORITY Sections 5-20
PART IV THE FINANCES OF THE PORT AUTHORITY Sections 21-59. Section 34 repealed
PART V THE THAMES Sections 60-93
PART VI PREVENTION OF POLLUTION Sections 94-107 repealed
PART VII VESSELS AND NAVIGATION Sections 108-138
PART VIII WATERMEN AND LIGHTERMEN Sections 139-140
PART IX GOODS TRAFFIC Sections 141-153
PART X THE PORT AUTHORITY'S POLICE FORCE Sections 154-160
PART XI BYELAWS Sections 161-170
PART XII THE SURREY CANAL Sections 171-174 repealed
PART XIII MISCELLANEOUS PROVISIONS Sections 175-207
PART XIV SUPPLEMENTARY Sections 208-216, Schedules 1-11
The Port of London Authority (Constitution) Harbour Revision Order 2015
