Dramatic Chiswick Lifeboat Rescue to Feature on TV

Local RNLI crew starring in Saving Lives at Sea

Lifeboat alongside the cruiser using chart plotter. Picture: RNLI/David Clarke

May 9, 2024

A dramatic rescue of a stricken party boat by the Chiswick Lifeboat crew is to be shown on a BBC TV programme later this month.

Saving Lives at Sea, which is to be broadcast on Tuesday 14 May at 8pm, will feature never seen before footage from the crews’ helmet cameras and interviews with the crew.

The show will feature an incident on the Thames that took place on 7 July last year. The Chiswick Lifeboat crew had been attending a casualty care exercise at Broomhouse Pier in Fulham when Thames Commander Mark Turrell noticed the large passenger vessel Royalty manoeuvring strangely and drifting towards houseboats at 9.50pm. Moments later, a call came through on the radio asking the lifeboat for immediate assistance as the vessel had lost propulsion with 50 partygoers on board.

The lifeboat crew quickly set up an alongside tow as that would allow better control with the captain of the passenger vessel steering while the lifeboat provided propulsion. Mark was able to speak directly to the captain on the radio and his own crew on their helmet comms to coordinate towing the vessel a mile to Putney Pier, its original destination.

The RNLI E-Class lifeboats, unique to the Thames, have towed larger vessels before but the crew say this was a different challenge because of the number of people on board. At 110 tons and 100 feet long Mark was apprehensive about how the alongside tow would work. He said afterwards, ‘We were confident that our lifeboat would be up to the job but relieved that the 900 horse power E-Class was more than capable of making way against the tide with such a large vessel.’

They faced the tricky task of guiding the vessel under the arches of Putney Bridge with the lifeboat along side it. This meant that the Royalty could not go through the centre and it was necessary to carefully aim it as far to the south of the centreline as was judged safe while lowering the lifeboat’s mast and aerials.

Negotiating the arch of Putney Bridge. Picture: RNLI/David Clarke

Even by this time, the rescue had been handled so smoothly that the revellers on the boat were unaware of the drama but allowing the tide to ease the Royalty onto the pier could have resulted in a sudden jolt, risking injuries onboard. Using the precise control allowed by the E-class’s twin water jets, Mark was able to gently bring the Royalty alongside.

He said, ‘It was a challenging rescue but went smoothly, none of the partygoers noticed that there was an extra blue light in the disco!

‘The situation could have had a very different outcome, it was satisfying to confirm that the capability of the E-Class and the extensive training of our crew, Adam Cairns, Tim Hallac and Tim Hughes, allowed us to carry out a seamless rescue for over 50 people.’

Chiswick lifeboat station manager Wayne Bellamy commented, ‘The RNLI search and rescue service on the tidal Thames has its roots in the campaign of the families who lost loved ones in the Marchioness disaster when 51 people drowned. The choice of lifeboats and location of lifeboat stations was established to deal with a similar incident. We daily attend all sorts of incidents but always have in mind that we may need to deal with a large passenger vessel with many people on board. It is gratifying that all our preparations have paid off in this rescue.’

Chiswick RNLI lifeboat station is the second busiest in the UK and Ireland. Since The RNLI search and rescue service on the Thames started in 2002, Chiswick Lifeboat has attended over 4,000 incidents and rescued over 1,750 people. The RNLI is entirely funded by public donations.

For information on how to stay safe on or near water or find out more about their work, visit Chiswick RNLI’s website.

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For information on how to stay safe on or near water or find out more about their work, visit Chiswick RNLI’s website.

Chiswick RNLI lifeboat station is the second busiest in the UK and Ireland. Since The RNLI search and rescue service on the Thames started in 2002, Chiswick Lifeboat has attended over 4,000 incidents and rescued over 1,750 people. The RNLI is entirely funded by public donations

This year, the RNLI celebrates its 200th birthday and during that time has saved more than 146,000 lives. RNLI lifeboats have been operating on the River Thames since 2002 and during that time have launched 18,544 times, aided 6,184 people and saved 680 lives.

For further information about the RNLI’s 200th anniversary, visit RNLI.org/200.