PLA issues warning after incident involving unmoored pleasure cruiser
The Interceptor under Chiswick Pier . Picture: Chiswick Pier Trust
|
The Port of London Authority (PLA) have issued a safety warning after a commercial passenger vessel broke loose from its moorings in Putney and drifted upstream for several miles before smashing into Chiswick Pier.
Nobody was on board the vessel, the Interceptor, which belonged to Chas Newens. The incident took place on the night of Friday 10 April. The Interceptor was swept up river by a strong incoming Spring tide which took her under Hammersmith Bridge and then lodged her under the footbridge that links the pier to the riverside path.
The RNLI were able to free the boat, which had some damage to its superstructure. A cable connecting the power supply to the RNLI boat station on the pier was severed.
According to a spokesperson for Chiswick Pier, had the boat been under power, the damage would have been a great deal worse. When the owners came to collect the boat the engines fired up easily and she was taken away.
The boat suffered some damage. Picture: Chiswick Pier Trust
The PLA’s Chief harbour master Bob Baker said, “We appreciate that commercial operators have limited numbers of employees or that their staff have been furloughed because of Covid-19, but it is vital that vessel moorings are attended to regularly to ensure accidents don’t happen.
“Equally, while recreational Clubs may have closed their clubhouse doors, it is again important that the moorings of vessels on Club moorings or in marinas, are regularly checked by a suitable representative from the Club during this current lockdown. Owners of vessels on private moorings should do the same, if essential and there is no viable alternative, whilst respecting Government guidelines.”
The cable to the RNLI station was severed. Picture: Chiswick Pier Trust
The PLA also recommend that all houseboat residents use this time to ensure that mooring lines and fenders are examined and meet best practice.
We have asked Chas Newens for comment.
Find Articles Like This Useful? Help Us Produce More This site remains committed to providing local community news and public interest journalism. Articles such as the one above are integral to what we do. We aim to feature as much as possible on local societies, charities based in the area, fundraising efforts by residents, community-based initiatives and even helping people find missing pets. We’ve always done that and won’t be changing, in fact we’d like to do more. However, the readership that these stories generates is often below that needed to cover the cost of producing them. Our financial resources are limited and the local media environment is intensely competitive so there is a constraint on what we can do. We are therefore asking our readers to consider offering financial support to these efforts. Any money given will help support community and public interest news and the expansion of our coverage in this area. A suggested monthly payment is £8 but we would be grateful for any amount for instance if you think this site offers the equivalent value of a subscription to a daily printed newspaper you may wish to consider £20 per month. If neither of these amounts is suitable for you then contact info@neighbournet.com and we can set up an alternative. All payments are made through a secure web site. One-off donations are also appreciated. Choose The Amount You Wish To Contribute. If you do support us in this way we’d be interested to hear what kind of articles you would like to see more of on the site – send your suggestions to the editor. For businesses we offer the chance to be a corporate sponsor of community content on the site. For £30 plus VAT per month you will be the designated sponsor of at least one article a month with your logo appearing if supplied. If there is a specific community group or initiative you’d like to support we can make sure your sponsorship is featured on related content for a one off payment of £50 plus VAT. All payments are made through a secure web site. |
April 30, 2020
