THE PORT OF LONDON AUTHORITY MAGAZINE P ISSUE 11 P SPRING/SUMMER 2011

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Editor:Doug KempsterDesign:

360create 020 8166 1597Photographers:

Andy WallaceWayne McCabeGavin ParsonsSam AshfieldJason CarterTrinity House

Port of London Authority London River HouseRoyal Pier RoadGravesend DA12 2BG, UK

Enquiries:editorial@pla.co.uk

Telephone:01474 562 305

For more informationon the Port of LondonAuthority, go to:

www.pla.co.uk

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Bulwark Packs a Punch off GreenwichOne of the UK’s mostadvanced amphibiousassault ships has stormedinto the Thames bringingclattering helicopters androaring commandos.

HMS Bulwark spent fivedays flexing its militarymuscle on the river forawe-struck Londoners.But in addition to the

landing craft, helicopterraids and simulated piratebattles off Greenwich,naval chiefs were also keenfor the March visit toshowcase Bulwark’shumanitarian capabilities.Personnel set up field

kitchens, anddemonstrated medical andfirst-aid techniques.Commanding officer

Captain Alex Burton said:“HMS Bulwark is thecountry’s very own SwissArmy Knife. Totallyindispensable andphenomenally versatile,she packs a punch with ourembarked group of Royal

Marines, and deliversessential support tohumanitarian and disasterrelief operations.“It’s fortunate we have

found time in our busyschedule to demonstrate tothe people of London –who are set to host theOlympic Games next year –what we can deliver.”Prior to its Thames visit,

the 18,000 tonne ship hadbeen conducting sea trialsfollowing an 11 monthupgrade at HM Naval BaseDevonport. The £30 million refit

took 450,000 man-hoursand involved overhauling1,625 pieces of kit, loadingand unloading 398 tonnesof equipment, andinstalling 21 miles ofelectrical cabling.Fitters removed and

replaced 215 hull valves,surveyed and cleaned 93tanks, and used 8,000litres of paint on the ship'souter hull.

As a result of the refit,Bulwark’s flight deck cannow operate two heavy-liftChinook helicopterssimultaneously, and theship has full tactical night-vision capability for itslanding craft and aircraft.

Bulwark is pictured hereat the Thames Barrier,escorted by the Port ofLondon Authority’s patrolboat Southwark.

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River Collision Boater Sentenced

The Queen’s Diamond Jubilee celebrationsare heading for the Thames.The iconic London river will be the

centrepiece of next year’s nationalfestivities.A flotilla of power, rowing and sailing

vessels will follow a crowd-lined route from Wandsworth to Tower Bridge on June 3, 2012.And the Queen will be at its head –

travelling aboard a converted sailing barge.Plans for the extravaganza – which will

include fireworks and music – have been inthe pipeline for the last seven months butwere only announced in April.

The celebration will mirror both the 1953 and 1977 river pageants whichmarked the Queen’s Coronation and SilverJubilee respectively.The Port of London Authority has been

working closely with the event organisers.London harbour master David Phillips

said: “This could be the most magnificentspectacle to be seen on the river since thereign of Charles II. But the Thames is abusy and complex tidal river, and our job atthe Port of London Authority – asnavigation advisers to the event organisers– is to oversee safety. This is our focus overthe next 14 months.”

A boater, convicted of causing acollision which tipped five rowersinto the river, has been ordered topart with nearly £28,000.Keith Clow was found guilty at

Kingston Crown Court ofnavigating a boat on the tidalThames in a manner liable toinjure or endanger persons orother vessels.He was fined £1,500, and

ordered to pay £6,479 incompensation and £20,000 in costs.The case was brought by the

Port of London Authority after themotor boat Mr Clow was driving,Time and Tide, ploughed over thetop of a moored safety vessel andlanded on a rowing skiff.The incident, which happened at

Richmond in September 2009, leftfour of the skiff’s occupants in thewater suffering cuts and shock,while a fifth had a broken foot.The court was told how Mr Clow

tried to pass the skiff by cuttinginside a row of moored craft nearRichmond Canoe Club.But witnesses said he came to a

dead end and, while trying tomanoeuvre back out, appeared touse too much throttle whichlaunched his vessel over the top of the safety boat and onto the skiff.

In court papers lodged by theprosecution, one of the rowerstold how she remembered seeingthe underside of Time and Tide“right next to my face” as it cameover the side of the skiff andcapsized it.She said her crew was tipped

into the river, adding: “Although Iam a strong swimmer, I feltdreadful fear and panic as I wasbeing sucked around in the waterand swished from side to side. Iwas unable to see and could notseem to determine which way was up, and therefore out, of thewater. I remember thinking I wasgoing to die.”

Harbour masters believe the up-turned skiff probably protectedthe rowers from Time and Tide’spropeller.The five casualties were pulled

from the water by other boatersand members of the public aspolice, ambulance, and RNLIlifeboat crews started to arrive on scene.Mr Clow has always denied the

charge, citing mechanicaldifficulties with the vessel’sthrottle and ignition as he tried to manoeuvre back out onto the river.He was sentenced in February

this year.

A major hunt for a missing swimmer ended when police divers discoveredhis body…more than two days after treacherous Thames currents draggedhim under.

The man sparked an extensive rescue operation when members of thepublic saw him get into difficulty at 5.35pm on Thursday, April 28.

London Coastguards, who received multiple 999 calls, sent TeddingtonRNLI lifeboats, the Met Police and London Ambulance Service to the scene.

London Fire Brigade mobilized its boat, Fireflash, six fire appliances, andthree fire and rescue units which deployed two rescue boats and acommand unit.

The police helicopter India 99 also conducted a search from the air.Divers recovered the body just after 11am on Sunday, May 1 near

Kingston.Matt Leat, London Coastguard operator, said: “Swimming in the River

Thames can be extremely hazardous. It is a very busy waterway and has astrong flow. The water temperature is about 100C, and the effects of coldwater immersion can soon take their toll.”

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Safety teams have launched amajor education drive to stopadrenaline junkies leaping intothe Thames.Port and local authorities have

become increasingly concernedby reports that adults andyoungsters are scrambling overpiers and jetties in the estuary topursue a national craze known astombstoning.The high octane activity, which

started in the West Country, hasclaimed six lives across the UK inthe last two years, with a further22 people suffering serious, life-changing injuries.Incidents became so bad in

2010 that HM Coastguard and theRoyal National LifeboatInstitution launched a UK-wideawareness campaign.But, despite this, authorities on

and around Canvey Island, Essex,have witnessed a number of localcases during the last year – manyof them involving children.On one occasion, a Port of

London Authority patrol boatcaught youngsters no older than12 hanging precariously from apier as they tried to dodgesecurity fencing and leap into the water.

Now the PLA, Castle PointBorough Council, Essex Police,and the Coastguard havelaunched an education drive totarget children who are ‘jumpinginto the unknown’.Gary Davies, the Port of

London Authority’s health andsafety adviser, said:“Tombstoning is jumping fromheight into water. “There are some places in the

UK where this can be done safely– where the ‘launching point’ isaccessible, and the water is clearand has sufficient depth.“The Thames is not one of

these places. It’s tidal, so itsdepth changes. And, because thewater has a lot of silt in it,jumpers can’t see what’s hiddenbelow the surface. They areliterally jumping into theunknown.”Tombstoners injured in the

estuary are also susceptible topowerful currents, some reachingspeeds of four knots. Last year,32 people drowned in the tidalThames, although none wereinvolved in tombstoning.“There have been no

tombstoning fatalities along theThames,” said Gary. “And we wantto keep it that way. During thecoming months PLA, Castle Pointand the police will be visitingschools and targeting events.We’ll be distributing Coastguardliterature and giving advice.“We want people to enjoy the

Thames in safety.”

Tombstoners in Grave Danger

A houseboat featured on TV’s Grand Designs sparked a salvageoperation when it broke its estuary moorings.The former Thames lighter, Medway Eco Barge, beached at

Westcliff-on-Sea, Essex, in February this year.It had been targeted by vandals.

The 33 metre (100ft) vessel appeared on the Channel 4 propertyshow in March 2007 when owners Chris Miller and Sze Liu Laispent £80,000 converting it into a home.But for the last three years, it’s been tied up unoccupied on a

private mooring near Southend – its windows recently smashed,structure daubed with graffiti, and interior trashed by vandals.A tug crew has now secured it at moorings further along the

Essex coast.

TV Boat Beached

It’s been blasted with 1,500 tonnes of abrasive sand,stripped back to its bare steel structure for the first timein 117 years, and coated in 22,000 litres of fresh paint.Now engineers at Tower Bridge have unveiled the

results of the London landmark’s massive make-over.The polythene wraps, scaffolding and cradles, which

have covered sections of the structure since September2008, have been cleared to reveal a sparkling new paint job.The last part of the operation – to revitalise the lifting

roadway section of the bridge (the bascules) – wascompleted in March this year.Bridge master Eric Sutherns said: “As Tower Bridge is

both a very busy London thoroughfare and a touristattraction that’s open 363 days of the year, the workshad to be phased to have minimum impact on the public. “It’s fantastic to see the bridge finally divested of all

wraps, scaffolding and cradles, and standing proud inpristine condition again.”Tower Bridge was created by architect Sir Horace Jones

and civil engineer Sir John Wolfe-Barry. It took eightyears to complete and was opened on 30 June 1894 bythe Prince and Princess of Wales (the future King EdwardVII and Queen Alexandra). It was originally painted greenish-blue and later

changed to a chocolate brown. It adopted its presentcolours – blue, white and red – for the Queen’s SilverJubilee in 1977.The £4 million bill for the latest works has been met

by Bridge House Estates – an ancient City trust launchedby monks in 1097 using the tolls they charged travellersto cross London Bridge.

Police investigating the theft of artefacts from a17th century Thames shipwreck have seized a£30,000 bronze cannon following a series of raidsin Kent.The officers, along with experts from English

Heritage and the Maritime and Coastguard Agency,also recovered deck fittings, lead, china, glass, and portholes.Investigators believe some of the items were

taken from the wreckage of HMS London – a threedeck, 64 gun warship which exploded off Southendin 1665 with the loss of 300 lives.Diarist Samuel Pepys, writing at the time of the

explosion, reckoned the ship went down with “80pieces of brass ordnance”.Bell divers recovered around 18 cannon within a

year of HMS London’s sinking, with another sixraised before the end of the century.In 2008 the Government made it illegal for divers

and salvage teams to interfere with the wreckagewithout a licence.The Port of London Authority recently diverted a

shipping channel around the vessel’s remainsbecause of its importance.Two men, aged 54 and 44, were arrested during

April’s police operation. They’ve been released onbail pending further enquiries.

Cannon Seized in Wreck Raids

Bridge (Face) Lift

Somewhere in the smoke-choked darkness of the ship’s engine room,a fire is feeding. The power’s out, no daylight filters this deep intothe vessel, and beams from the fire crew’s flashlights bounce backat them – reflected off the churning black and orange fumes. It’shot, achingly hot – anywhere between 400 and 1,000 degrees. Andeach firefighter’s six kilos (13lbs) of flame-retardantclothing…tunics, trousers, flash hoods, helmets…piles on

the discomfort, drawing stinging sweat into their eyes as they crouchin the bulkhead doorway that leads to the cavernous oven of theengine space. They shuffle in blindly, along a gantry high above the ship’s

now-burning heart, their deliberate movements giving themgreatest stability against a buffeting sea.Semi-stooping against the heat, they follow the bulkhead

with the backs of their gloved hands – searching for thestairway that will lead down to the blaze.They’re already sucking in laboured lungfuls of sterile

air from the 20 kilogram (44lbs) breathing apparatus (BA) strapped to their backs. Yet the real exertion –fighting the fire and recovering casualties – still liesbefore them.Entering this blistering, black and deadly environment

goes against every instinct of nature. But these part-timefire crews – officers, seamen, and engineers by profession– know they can’t flee the flames.If they don’t tackle the fire and rescue their shipmates

out here on the open ocean, nobody will.However today these trainee fire crews aren’t as isolated

as they could be. They’re not crippled among the frozenfloes of the Arctic or being rolled helplessly on the swellsof the desolate Pacific…they’re on the Thames marshes nearGravesend, Kent.Like hundreds of seafarers before them, they’re hauling

hoses and casualties through the suffocating darkness of aburning ship simulator.Devised by North West Kent College’s School of Maritime

Operations and Logistics (formally the National Sea TrainingCentre), this oppressive three-deck monument to marine disaster is so realistic even Kent Fire and Rescue Service uses it for training.It’s a labyrinth of alleyways, gantries and stairways, punctuated

with furnished passenger lounges and crew accommodation. And atits centre is the terrifying furnace-like engine room.

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“It’s not a pleasant place,” admits instructor and serving firefighter Iain Morrison. “It can really get to people. We’ve had occasions when students have just lost it in here; when we’ve had to get them out through

the emergency exits because they’ve gone into blind panic.

“It’s as close to a ship fire as any seafarer will everwant to come. But it’s crucial if crews are to train forthe real thing.

“We could make it a lot less stressful – turndown the heating a bit, throw in a token smokebomb, give students a certificate and sendthem on their way.

“Problem is, with that approach, they’dbe totally unprepared if they faced aproper fire.”Every crew member aboard a ship has a

dual role – their professional job during‘peace-time’ and a specific task in theevent of an emergency.This could be fire fighting, crowd

control, manning the muster points, orlaunching the lifeboats.

“We train everyone,” says seniorlecturer and former fire fighter TonyPower, “from the captains of supertankers to hairdressers working aboardcruise ships.“A fire’s a fire, but, afloat, it could

force a crew from one hostileenvironment to another.

“Evacuating a ship should always bea last resort. Even a damaged vesselis likely to afford more protectionthan a life raft. Yet a growing fire isguaranteed to separate a ship and

its occupants.“Quick, confident action and clear

thinking is crucial to saving life on theopen seas.”

All ships are fitted with firesuppression systems. Theseallow the crew to seal off the

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burning area and crush the blazeby pumping in carbon dioxide,high fog, or high-expansion foam.But, while this approach snuffs

out the fire very quickly withoutcrews having to enter the dangerzone, it does have majordrawbacks. With the exception ofhigh fog systems, which give off afine water spray, all the others willkill casualties trapped in thevicinity of the blaze.“Unfortunately it can end-up as

a numbers game,” says Tony. “Ifyou have a handful of casualtiesbelow deck and hundreds ofpassengers above, do you risk thelives of the whole ship to save afew? There’s no easy answer.”For the purposes of today’s

exercise, the fire fighters haveentered the burn zone to recover a casualty.On the engine room gantry,

they’ve found the stairway whichdrops down to the blaze.The first to descend the steps

goes backwards as if using aladder. This stops the hefty airtank on his back from throwinghim off-balance and crashing himdown on to the deck.He sweeps each stair with his

boot to clear off debris, and thenstamps down hard to ensure itsintegrity before trusting his fullweight to it.Only when he reaches the

bottom, does the next fire fightermake an identical descent.They regroup at the foot of the

stairs, fanning out from thebulkhead wall - one hand on theshoulder of the crewman besidethem, the other making widesweeping motions to detect unseenobstacles.The lead fire fighter, the hose

clasped in the gloved hand that’stracing the bulkhead, is testing hispath with sweeps of his boot.His metallic voice, amplified by

a speech diaphragm in themouthpiece of his mask, describeswhat he finds to his crew mates – a step up, a chair, a doorway, a girder.Then they see the fire for the

first time. Like liquid water it rollsup the walls in waves and eddiesof pure energy. The heat ishorrific, even through theprotective clothing, and the firefighters crouch in the face of thisinferno.Fire fighting at sea is about

more than just pounding flameswith hoses. Use too much water,and the crews could destabilisetheir own ship as run-off slopsaround the decks.Tony says: “These hoses operate

at eight bar pressure. That meansthey’re throwing out 450 litres(100 gallons) every minute. Andeach litre weighs a kilo.“If the fire’s near the bottom of

the ship, the water we use is lessof an issue because the vessel’spumps can remove it. Butelsewhere, we have the potentialfor tonnes of water to be flowingaround the ship.“This could lead to ‘free surface

effect’ – as the water rolls aroundthe decks, it exaggerates themotion of the ship to the pointwhere the vessel could becomeunstable and, ultimately, capsize.“Around 90 per cent of the water

we use on fires serves no purposeat all. So we train our fire fightersto do more with less.”

Crouched before the simulated

engine room inferno, the rookiefire fighters have rememberedtheir training. They switch thehose to a ‘ragged spray’ setting –mid-way between a water ‘jet’ anda fine spray called ‘wall to wall’ –and launch a savage assault on the blaze.The fire, which had been feeding

for an hour before thetemperatures were hot enough to start the exercise, seems almost alive.The first blast of water takes it

by surprise; it rises up in a roar offury. Then shrinks back, gutters

and, eventually, dies under therelentless crush of spray. In the failing orange light of the

last flames, the crouching firefighters see their next hazardrising up from the ashes. Thewater that had come to their aid just moments before is nowrolling back at them in clouds ofscalding steam.The fire’s out, there’s total

darkness, but the temperature andhumidity is still rising!In this toxic sauna, the team

now begins its groping hunt for survivors.This is a critical time for the

trainees. They’d entered theburning decks with 190 bar of airin their tanks but stress andexertion have sapped theirsupplies. The trainees must movequickly now to locate the casualtyand then find their way back out.Watching their progress just feetaway, instructor and serving firefighter Jason Carroll is poised torescue the rescuers if this lastcrucial stage goes wrong.They've fanned out again,

moving three abreast, stillgripping each other’s shoulders,with the lead fire fighter followingthe bulkhead with his hand.“It’s vital,” says Jason, “that they

keep in physical contact with eachother. If one becomes separatedand lost at this stage, or the teamleader loses contact with thebulkhead, they’ll becomedisorientated and may never findtheir way back out with what littleair they have left.”At this point, one of the men

calls out; his boot has clippedsomething on the floor. Careful tokeep one hand on his colleague, hestoops and reaches out with hisother. It’s a body.The task of hauling this casualty

to safety now falls to fire fighters

“We give students an opportunity to will never encounter in real life;

see flames in a way that most of them – the lucky ones – from chip pan ‘boil – overs’ to fuel fires.”

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two and three. One protectingthe head, the other the legs, theylift their fallen crew mate and,staying in contact with each

other, shuffle back the waythey’ve come.At their head, fire fighter one

continues tracking the bulkhead,still carrying the hose to ensurehe can fight his way through anysecondary flare-ups.He’s memorised his journey

into heart of the blaze. Now hehas to replay it in his mind.Round the edge of the engineroom, back up the stairs, past thisdoor, down that step, along thispassageway, round that table… Heneed only make one mistake, onewrong turn, and the rescuers willstagger deeper into the chokingfumes and die, lost in thealleyways of their own ship.A whistle sounds on one of the

BA sets – a fire fighter is down tohis last 50 bar of air. But there’sfaint grey light ahead and thesmoke’s dissipating as it curlsthrough the open doorway andout into blustery Thamesdaylight.The exercise is over. The fire’s

out. Three fire fighters and onecasualty accounted for.“On this occasion, we were

tackling a ship blaze,” says Tony.“But the principles of fire fightingapply equally to boats andrecreational craft.“On average, there are around

90 fire-related accidents andinjuries on UK vessels every year, with blazes on privatelyowned boats killing at least threepeople annually.“Whether you’re aboard a

container ship, a yacht, or in ashore-side establishment, thechemistry of fire is always thesame. It needs fuel, oxygen, andheat. Remove one of these

components and the fire will die. The art of fire fighting is toknow which and, just asimportantly, how.

“Ship fire fighting is oneextreme of what we do at thecollege. Most leisure boaters tendto opt for more basic fireawareness – first aid fire fighting,if you like. “This is about understanding

fire, taking action to prevent anincident, and surviving a blaze if the worst happens. We alsocover the types of extinguisherson the market; how to use themand when.“We give students an

opportunity to see flames in away that most of them – the luckyones – will never encounter inreal life; from chip pan ‘boil-overs’ to fuel fires.“And, regardless of the course

they choose, the most importantlesson they’ll take away is abetter understanding not only offire but, also, of themselves.”Fire and humanity may have

co-existed for thousands of years,but this familiarity and theadvance in fire fightingtechnology has left most peoplecomplacent, he says.“We all think we know fire but,

in reality, few people reallyunderstand it.”“We show our students genuine

CCTV footage of a fire in an offlicence. Some youngsters throwlighted paper through the doorand it sets the display unit alight.The shopkeeper doesn’t notice atfirst because she’s dealing with acustomer. But another customerwalks in and sees the fire.However he doesn’t raise thealarm – he joins the queue and

waits to be served!“It’s not an uncommon reaction.

He doesn’t want to make a fussand his perception is that he isn’t

at risk, even though thefire is between him andthe doorway – and it isgrowing.“The reaction of

passers-by is equallytelling – one mother actuallybrings her young children intothe shop so they can get a betterview of the flames!“An attempt to fight the fire

only begins when the shopkeepersees it and tries to use a carbon

dioxide extinguisher.“However, the fire’s near an

open door and CO2 works bycutting off the fire’s oxygen. Inthis location and situation, it’s thewrong extinguisher to use and istotally ineffective – doubly sobecause the shopkeeper doesn’tknow how it works andaccidentally discharges it into herown face.“It was a miracle nobody was

killed.“Most students can’t believe

their eyes when they see thefootage. But, if we’re truthful withourselves, without training, wouldwe have acted differently?”

“This is about understanding fire, taking actionto prevent an incident, and surviving a blaze ifthe worst happens.”

More details: 01322 629 600http://courses.nwkcollege.ac.uk/courses.php?school_id=61

Tony’sTips

Fire PreventionEngines� Don’t let oil or debris build-up inthe bilges

� Inspect engine and heaterexhaust lagging for damage anddeterioration. Check nearbyitems for heat damage orcharring.

� Check for loose fuel joints,damaged fuel tanks, ordeteriorating hoses.

Fuel� Take care when refuelling.Extinguish any naked flamesfirst. Turn off the engine andcookers before handling fuel.

� Prevent fuel vapour fromentering the boat by closingdoors, windows or hatches.

� Refuel outboard engines andgenerators well away from the boat.

� Leaks, spills and vapour can ignite easily. Clean them up straight away and make sure filler caps are secure after refuelling.

� Only carry spare fuel ifnecessary and store it in a self-draining locker on deck.

Gas� Ensure gas appliances areinstalled and maintainedroutinely by qualified fitters.

� Make sure gas cylinders are secure after they’ve been changed.

� Turn gas valves off beforeleaving the boat.

� Store gas cylinders outside, in a self-draining and fire resistantlocker.

Electrics� Unplug appliances when not in use or when you are leavingthe boat.

� Damaged wires can overheatrapidly, so look out for scorchmarks or burning smells.

� When installing boat batteries,check straps or restraints aresecure afterwards.

EmergencyPlanning� Draw up an emergency planbefore you need it. Improvisingwill be difficult once somethinggoes wrong.

� Ensure your crew knows how toclose emergency valves andswitches in the event of a fire.

� Always keep a torch at hand fornight escapes.

� Don’t go to sea without VHF.Carry a fully charged, hand-held, waterproof VHF radio –even if you already have fittedVHF. Don’t rely on a mobilephone (it may not have a signalwhen you need it most).

� Ensure there are enoughlifejackets for everyone aboard,make sure they’re all adjustedand fitted before you set off.Always keep lifejackets serviced.

� Keep exits clear and keys tohand. Don’t lock or bolt doors orhatches from the outside whilepeople are aboard.

� Always keep close tabs on your boat’s position to help emergency services find you quickly.

Fire FightingGeneral� If you’re in a smoke-filled space,

keep low where the air will beclearer. Where possible, avoidentering a smoke-filled area.

� If you need to break glass to escape, use a blanket toprevent injury.

� Starve the fire of air. Don’t openengine hatches or doors unlessyou have to.

� If you think you can tackle thefire, use an extinguisher butnever allow flames to comebetween you and the exit. Wherepossible, fight the fire from thedoorway, this will give you morelight, fresher air, and a clearescape route.

� If you don’t have anextinguisher, use water from over the side but not if the blaze involves flammable liquids.

� If the fire is close to a gascylinder, turn the valve off,disconnect the cylinder andremove it to a safe place.

At sea� Move as far away from the fire

as you can.� Ensure everyone is wearing

lifejackets� Take a handheld VHF radio on

deck and call for help.� Alert via DSC or send a mayday

on channel 16.

In a harbour or marina� Dial 999/112 and ask for the

fire brigade.� Get everyone not involved

in fighting the fire off the boat. Tell them to warnneighbouring boats.

� If the fire continues to grow, getoff the boat.

For 13 years, Port of London Authoritypilot Jon Stafford has boarded ships at sea.

He’s scaled the side of a staggering1,500 vessels using nothing more thana rope ladder.

As one of 90 Thames pilots, he’s pivotal in guiding shiploads of imported fuel, food, and consumer

goods into London and the south east.But it’s a demanding and sometimes

dangerous job.And, on the evening of 17 January

this year, Jon got a taste of just howdangerous when he plunged six metres(19ft) from the deck of the cargo shiphe was boarding, seven miles offRamsgate.

The cause of his fall is the subject ofan ongoing harbour masterinvestigation. But here, Jon tells ingraphic detail how he was suckedagainst the side of the ship; throwninto the path of its churning propeller;and, ultimately, saved by his portauthority survival training and that ofhis pilot boat crew…

SEASurvivor

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“People have asked me “how longdid you hang there for?” Ithappened in the click of a finger.I got to the top of the pilotladder, one hand gripped at

nothing, and then I was swinging backwards. Isuspect I spun through 180 degrees, smackedagainst the ship’s side and that was it, I fell.There was no hanging there, flapping arms and

legs around, screaming pathetically.As soon as I knew I was going, I remember

looking below me. I needed to know whether Iwas going to hit the pilot boat (cutter) that hadjust brought me out here, or the water.Standard procedure is that, once the pilot has

climbed off the boat onto the ship’s ladder, theboat crew peels away; so, if the pilot does fall, hefalls into the water, not onto the boat. The boat is full of stanchions, anchors, and all

sorts of spiky things sticking up that you reallydon’t want to fall across.My boat had moved away, although it hadn’t

got very far. It was about a metre and a half offthe ship. But it was enough. It was going to be atight squeeze, but I’d fall between the pilot boatand the ship. As I hit the water, the first things I thought

about were the propellers because the pilotcutter and the ship were still moving at about sixknots – and I wasn’t. I’d gone quite deep. I certainly felt the

underside of the pilot boat with my hand. I’dfallen about five or six metres – like off the highboard in a swimming pool.I had absolute confidence that the cutter crew

would kill their props the instant I went into thewater, so they wouldn’t do me any damage.But what concerned me deeply was the ship’s

propeller. That really, really worried me.

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I kept my eyes open the wholetime. I could see everything fromunder the water. It must just besomething you do instinctively.Your brain wants all theinformation it can get. It’s not thatyou deliberately keep your eyesopen; you just never considerclosing them.I know it was night time but

there was illumination from theboat’s searchlight and the ship’slights. And the salt water didn’tsting my eyes as it usually doeswhen I try swimming in the sea off Margate!When I came back to the surface,

I was at the back end of the pilotboat. I’d gone in at the bow, stayedunderwater until the pilot cutter’sstern had passed, and then I wasup at the surface. But the current was pushing me

hard up against the ship’s side; Iknew it was taking me towards theship’s propeller; and I knew thatpropeller would still be turning.The captain could kill it by

hitting the emergency stop, but Iwas sure there hadn’t been enoughtime for him to do that. I fullyexpected that propeller to bewanging around at 150 revs.As I slid along the ship’s side, I

was dragged right in underneaththe counter (where the hull curvesinto the water), so that the vesselwas actually above me although Iwas still in air, just.A ship is designed to make

water flow smoothly around it andout the back. So, although on thesurface, people think they see the

blunt back of a ship, underwater itisn’t really. It’s actually more fineon the stern than it is at the bow,like an aircraft wing goingvertically through the water. Thewhole idea is for the water tofollow the ship’s lines right back tothe rudder. And I was stuck in thisflow of water, and I was going backtowards the rudder.I didn’t know how deep the

propeller was but I knew the shipwas in light draught – it wasn’tsitting low in the water. There aresome ships, when in light draught,which have propellers that actuallycut the surface like an egg whisk. I didn’t think that was the

case here, but I had no idea howclose to the surface the propellerwas. So I was trying to keep myfeet up. I didn’t want anythingdangling down!I tried to push off against the

ship with my hands and then Ispun round and got my feet on thehull to try pushing off with them.But the current was too strong.The only positive effect my actionsdid have was that they kept mybody on the surface.In the end, I guess I passed

within a metre of the propeller. Imay even have touched the rudderwith my hand, and the propeller isjust in front of that.I would think, from falling in the

water to clearing the stern of theship, it couldn’t have been morethan 30 to 45 seconds – but it feltlike a lifetime.Now I’d got past the immediate

danger and the ship was moving

away, I started to concentrate onrecovery. I checked the lifejacketwas up and the light was flashing.All pilots learn survival training

when they’re at sea, but the Port ofLondon Authority takes us througha modified version again when wejoin, because normal sea survivalisn’t always specific to the types ofrisk we face.Climbing a pilot ladder is one of

the things we do regularly that hasa certain risk attached to it.Falling off, although it’s not to

be advised, is a foreseeable – ifrare – accident which we train for. I think we’ve had two, perhapsthree, incidents of pilots falling offladders in the last 10 years which,when you think of the volume ofboardings we do, is very small. We also train with our pilot

cutter crews, who practiceregularly at recovering casualties,so we’re a pretty effective team inan emergency.I can tell you now, from first

hand experience, that the trainingworks really well! Remarkably mybrain stayed absolutely crystalclear. It just clears everything outthe way and concentrates onsucking air – staying alive.Once the ship had passed, I

knew I had to reduce my risk ofhypothermia. I knew that in watertemperatures around England atthat moment, I probably hadaround 10 minutes before I startedlosing sensation in my extremities.Once you start doing that, thingsbecome more difficult to do. I probably had 20 minutes

I probably had 20 minutes beforehypothermia really startedto get a grip and, ofcourse, when thathappens, your thinkingpowers go. And around

15 minutes after that, Iwould lose consciousness. So I worked at keeping

my body heat in: I kept mylegs together; didn’t flapabout with my hands; keptmy head covered - I still

“

before hypothermia really startedto get a grip and, of course, whenthat happens, your thinkingpowers go. And around 15 minutesafter that, I would loseconsciousness. So I worked at keeping my body

heat in: I kept my legs together;didn’t flap about with my hands;kept my head covered - I still hadmy cap on, so I jammed it downtight to keep warm. I looked more like Ernie the

milkman than I did a professionalpilot. But, when you’re talkingabout your life in terms ofminutes, every second counts; andthe longer you can keep your bodyheat in, the better off you will be.Then I started looking for the

pilot cutter.It was dark, there was a bit of a

swell running but there weren’tvery many waves. As weather goesdown there, it was pretty good –not flat calm, but pretty good.There are two men on the cutter

and, in this situation, a crewmanstands on the foredeck and justkeeps his eyes on you and pointswith his hand. The coxswain, whomay not be able to see you fromthe helm, can see his crewman onthe foredeck and follows where hepoints. The man on the foredecknever takes his eyes off youbecause you are a little speck in abig, dark lump of water.I could hear the crew talking to

each other and I heard thecrewman say at one stage that he’dlost sight of me. It was night timeand I suspect I might have rotated

round so he couldn’t see myflashing light. Whatever it was, I wasn’t visible and that concerned me.I put my left hand up – I had

a yellow sleeve with retro-reflectivetape so, by raising my arm in the air, it improved my chances of being spotted. And, as soon as I did, I heard a shout and the boat came round and alongside mevery quickly.As a pilot, I’ve been trained to

drive a cutter in an emergency.When I’ve practiced recovering aman overboard, I’ve rarely gotclose enough to the casualty firsttime. The boat’s heavy, somethinglike 35 tonnes, and you’ve got toget within a metre of the person.But the danger is, if you misjudgeit, you’ll give the man in the watera nasty clout. So you tend to be a bit shy. And

generally, on your first attempt,you’re too far away for thecrewman to grab the casualty. Inthis situation, you can’t justmanoeuvre closer, you’ve got topeel away, go round and takeanother run at it. But my coxswain did it first

time. He came up and, when hestopped the boat, I was just abouta metre away – absolutely perfect. The crewman deployed the mate-

saver – it’s like the equipment yousee at the side of swimming pools:a pole with a loop in the end of it.It’s quite hard to grab hold ofsomebody with that thing, it’s notas easy as it looks, but he grabbedme first catch.

I knew I’d done something to myleft hand even before I wasrescued. It felt decidedly odd. Itdidn’t feel as if it had strength init. I thought that, perhaps, I hadbroken it, although I had no ideawhat on.With hindsight, I think it was

where I spun round at the top ofthe ladder and smacked the hullwith it.But it was only when I was

hauled aboard the pilot cutter bytwo pairs of hairy arms that Irealised I’d also done something tomy ankle.I put my foot down on the deck

and thought “that doesn’t feelgood.” I didn’t think it was broken, I just thought I’d given it a bit of a twist.When we got alongside at

Ramsgate there was a fast responseparamedic, an ambulance, andthree police cars waiting to takeme to hospital, where I was treatedfor the effects of exposure to thecold and my injuries – my anklewas broken but my hand wasn't.The experience hasn’t put me offboarding ships or using pilotladders. The maritime industrydiscusses the use of pilot ladderson a regular basis. And all sorts ofpeople come in with all sorts ofideas, but after due considerationwe still haven’t really come up witha better boarding method.Using them is just part of the

job and I know now that theextensive emergency training wedo really does work!”

had my cap on, so Ijammed it down tight tokeep warm. I looked more like Ernie

the milkman than I did aprofessional pilot. But,when you’re talking about

your life in terms ofminutes, every secondcounts; and the longer youcan keep your body heatin, the better off you willbe. Then I started lookingfor the pilot cutter.”

They’re the ultimate inmaritime muscle. Salvageships capable of liftingwrecks, sunken fishing boats,and even stranded whalesfrom the turbulent depths of the Thames.

For more than 40 years the Port of LondonAuthority’s Crossness and Hookness havecleared a path for vessels using Britain’sbusiest waterway.

They’ve maintained the river’sinfrastructure, are in the thick of the actionwhen pollution and oil spills strike, and have assisted the emergency services inrecovering casualties.

It’s not a glamorous posting for thespecialist marine teams who work these ships.It’s a grimy existence among rusting chains,cruel currents, rotting timbers, barnacleencrusted piling, driving rain, and treacherousmud - their daily lives filled with the smell ofseaweed and marine diesel.

But, as they ply the Thames in the battle-scarred bruisers they’ve dubbed ‘the NessBoats’, they know the river’s pristine cruiseliners, cathedral-like container ships, andsleek commuter craft could not operate safelywithout them.

“We’re a salvage and recovery team,” saysrelief master and diver Alan Nichols. “We’llclear anything on the river that’s a threat orobstruction to vessels using the Thames.

“This could range from a fouled anchor orlost cargo to a sunken barge or wreck.

“However, the Thames has an excellentsafety record and sunken vessels aren’t a

18

regular occurrence. So our day today duties are more about rivermaintenance – laying shipmoorings, replacing channelbuoys, or supporting marineconstruction projects.”

The Thames can be a savageenvironment – millions of tonnesof water are shoved, squeezed, andfunnelled into the river by eachflooding tide.

And when it retreats, the currentwhips and spins violently aroundthe river’s jetties and piers. On asingle ebb tide, 100 million tonnesof water rolls past Southend on itsway out to sea.

Navigating in these conditions ischallenging; carrying out heavyconstruction, recovery, ormaintenance work in them takes avery special talent.

Even the most routine jobs – likereplacing or overhauling a channelmarker buoy – are fraught withdifficulties and hazards.

“On land,” says Alan, “liftingseveral tonnes of kit is demandingenough. You have to be aware ofthe stresses and strains yourcrane, chains, and ropes are under.

“On water, you have the sameconsiderations, but you’re alsodoing this work in a dynamic,hostile, and continuously changingenvironment.”

Alan points to the four tonnechannel marker buoy, St Clements,off Greenhithe.

It’s attached to the river bed bythree tonnes of heavy chain and asinker – an iron block with aconcave base which creates suctionin the mud to hold it in place.

“In total,” he says, “you’relooking at around seven tonnes ofkit that would need to be hauledup when you replace, repair, orsurvey this buoy. But, when youadd the effects of the suction,you’ll actually need 12 tonnes oflift to shift it.”

During these lifts, the eight-strong marine services crew –divers, crane operators, welders,shot blasters, boat handlers – mayappear relaxed and even exchange

banter, but their eyes areeverywhere.

They’re watching their vessel’sposition as it’s shunted by the tide.They’re anticipating themovements of passing ships –watching for wash that could rockCrossness and send the loadhanging from its crane crashingacross the deck like a pendulum.They’re watching for anydeterioration in the weather or seastate. They’re watching for safetyhazards as the vessel’s equipmentgroans under the strain of the lift.

And they’re watching out foreach other…because, in hecticmoments like this, a crewman who loses his footing and plungesover the side could be swept away before his disappearance iseven noticed.

“We’re out in all types ofweather,” says Alan, “sunshine,rain, and snow. The real showstoppers, though, are wind and seastate. We just can’t risk a heavy liftif Crossness or Hookness are rollingfrom side to side.

“As a rule of thumb, we don’toperate in winds above 20 or 25knots. With sea state, it dependsvery much on the precise locationof the job. Some areas will be moresheltered than others.

“The worst conditions in theThames are normally linked toeasterly winds, especially if thetide is ebbing, because the water’smoving in the opposite direction tothe wind causing very unpleasantsurface conditions.”

Despite the hostile Thamesenvironment, generations of PLAsalvage crews have learnt to use the treacherous conditions totheir advantage.

The ships, built by James WCook and Company, can each haulup to 120 tonnes of wreckage overtheir bows or, if working intandem, 240 tonnes. They’rekitted-out with twin 20 tonnewinches and a 15 tonne Efferhydraulic deck crane.

But, on occasions when this kitstill can’t shift a load from the

“We’re out in alltypes ofweather,” saysAlan, “sunshine,rain, and snow.The real showstoppers,though, arewind and seastate. We justcan’t risk aheavy lift ifCrossness orHookness arerolling from sideto side.

”

20

river bed, the ‘Ness Boats’ will use the tide to boost their pulling power.

“We can hook on to theobstruction at low water, take upthe slack in the chains, and justwait for the tide to lift us and theobject,” says deputy marineservices manager Jim Denby.

“If we don’t have time to wait forthe tide, we can recreate this effectby filling our ballast tanks, thenemptying them to increase lift.”

The crew also uses the river’snatural behaviour to boost thevessels’ handling.

Both ships, despite being 38.9metres long with a maximumdraught of 2.98 metres anddisplacement of 600 tonnes, are aslikely to be deployed in therelatively tranquil waters offPutney as the wind-blastedexpanses of the estuary.

Each is powered by twinCaterpillar 3406B engines, giving the ‘Ness Boats’ around 300 bhp and a maximum speed ofnine knots.

But they have no bow thrusters –propellers set near the front of thevessel which improve its ability tomanoeuvre in tight spaces.

“All our power and steeragecome from the stern of the vessel,”says skipper Chris Bright, “soCrossness and Hookness can be abit of a challenge to handle.

“In addition, the steering has no hydraulics, so it’s often heavy work.

“And, unlike a car, there’s a delaybetween the moment you turn thewheel and when the vessel reacts.

“None of this is an issue in openwater, but it has a major impactwhen you’re trying to navigate ashallow creek or manoeuvre into atight space.

“The secret is to anticipate whatthe vessel is going to do and usethe environment – the current forinstance – to help you steer. Onceyou crack that, these ‘Ness Boats’are incredible and it’s amazing thespaces you can get into.”

Even as he says this, Chris

brings Crossness alongside itsmooring at Denton Wharf,Gravesend, as if it had powersteering and ABS.

“When they were built in 1969,these vessels were state-of-the-art,and it’s testament to their buildquality that they’re still doing thebusiness today,” he says.

“The Port of London Authorityhas upgraded them through theyears. Most noticeable was theintroduction of GPS (satellite-basedGlobal Positioning System) – ittransformed the way our salvageteams worked.

“Before, we’d have to use chartsand sextants to pinpoint thelocation of an underwaterobstruction.

“Today, our hydrographic surveyvessels send us coordinates andwe can put a diver directly on topof the target as soon as we’re on

site. He’ll get a strop around theobject, hook it to the crane and wecan lift it very quickly.”

Despite the upgrades, the portauthority recognises that Crossness and Hookness arenearing retirement. PLA marineengineers are already working ondesigns for the next generation of‘Ness Boat’.

This new class will be every bitas ground-breaking in its design asthe existing salvage ships were 40-odd years ago.

But however they look andwhatever they’re called, thesevessels, and the men and women who crew them, will bekeeping one crucial ‘Ness Boat’tradition alive – they’ll stay in thethick of the tough, inhospitablejobs that keep the Thames moving.

22

A rare warplane lies sem

i-

submerged in the sea b

ed and

wrapped in darkness.

It is belly-up, bomb do

ors

still open, tyres still in

flated,

and wings partially obs

cured

by sand.

Fifty feet (15 metres) a

bove

it, Port of London Auth

ority

sonar peers down throu

gh

shifting currents to exa

mine

the wreck –more than 7

0

years after it settled in

its

watery grave.

This is one of the haun

ting

images the authority’s

multibeam echosounde

r

recorded – and it’s left

experts

at the Royal Air Force M

useum

stunned by its detail.T

he plane

is a Dornier 17, one of

1,700

built by the Germans. T

hey

were designed in 1934

as

passenger aircraft but w

ere

converted into bomber

s during

World War II, playing a

major

role in raids on Britain

throughout the Blitz.

Very few survived host

ilities

– scores were shot dow

n by RAF

fighters, while others w

ere

scrapped after the war.

As a result, the aircraft

captured in this incred

ible

image is thought to be t

he last

of its kind.

Ian Thirsk, the RAF Mu

seum’s

head of collections, wa

s aboard

the PLA hydrographic v

essel

Yantlet when the survey was

carried out. He said: “T

his is a

unique aircraft and it’s

linked to

an iconic event in Britis

h

history, so its importan

ce

cannot be overemphasi

sed,

nationally and internat

ionally.

“It’s one of the most

significant aeronautica

l finds of

the century.”

The Dornier – serial num

ber

1160 – served with the

Luftwaffe’s 7 Squadron

, 3

Group, 3rd Bomber Win

g.

On 26 August 1940, pil

oted

by Flight Sergeant Willi

Effmert

and packed with 2,000

lbs

(900kg) of explosives, i

t

was part of a bomber

formation tasked

with destroying

targets in Essex.

It never

completed its

mission.

As the bombers droned

over

the Kent coast at 13,00

0ft

(4,000 metres), RAF De

fiant

fighters fell on them,

destroying six.

Effmert’s aircraft was

damaged badly, forcing

him to

make a wheels-up landi

ng on

the notorious Goodwin

Sands.

He survived the impact

, along

with his observer, but

two other

crewmen didn’t. Their b

odies

were later washed asho

re.

The aircraft, itself, sank

into

the English Channel, fli

pping

onto its back as it slid

beneath

the waves. For much o

f the last

70 years, it’s been cove

red by

the sea bed, re-emergin

g in

2010 as currents scour

ed away

its sandy shroud.

Now the RAF Museum,

with support from Eng

lish

Heritage and the Minis

try

of Defence, hopes to

raise the wreck and ma

ke

it the centrepiece of a

Battle of Britain exhibi

tion.

In April this year, exper

ts

from the museum, a sp

ecialist

from sonar manufactur

er

Reson, and a BBC film c

rew

joined Port of London A

uthority

hydrographic surveyor

s aboard

Yantlet as it steamed out of

Ramsgate harbour to st

udy

the bomber.

The images

they retrieved

– showing the

aircraft’s twin

engines and even the

damage sustained by

the propellers when the

Dornier crash-landed –

will be used to help

diving contractors

draw-up a salvage

plan.Air Vice-

Marshal Peter

Dye, director

general of the

museum,

said: “The

Dornier

will

provide an

evocative and

moving exhibit

that will allow the

museum to present the

wider story of the Batt

le of

Britain and highlight th

e

sacrifices made by the

young

men of both air forces a

nd from

many nations.”

See - Pla

aneIan Thirsk

In the air

On the sea bed

Aboard Yantlet

On TV

If you are planning to travel to the Thames in

your own boat for the

summer of 2012 you must make sure you have

pre-booked and confirmed a mooring before you

begin your journey.

Mooring and boating facilities are very limited

in ports, marinas and inland waterways on or near the River Thames. If you arrive without a

pre-booked mooring you will not have access to suitable berthing and

mooring facilities.

An Important Message for Visiting

Recreational Boaters

These agencies are working together to ensure all recreational users navigating the Thames and Medway in 2012, experience a safe and enjoyable Olympics.

Pick up a leaflet or visit www.pla.co.uk or

www.boatingonthethames.co.uk for further details