The PLA has a primary responsibility to facilitate the safety of navigation on the tidal Thames. The Port Marine Safety Code requires the PLA to maintain a dedicated Safety Management System (SMS) for marine operations within its area of jurisdiction, based on a formal risk assessment of these operations.
Fundamental to the SMS are a number of services dedicated to the regulation of navigation on the Thames.
1. Vessel Traffic Services
2. The Harbour Patrol Service
3. The PLA Pilotage Service
4. Investigations of Incidents in respect of Navigational Offences
The PLA Vessel Traffic Service (VTS) Centres at Gravesend and Woolwich provide continuous monitoring by radar and VHF radio of movements of vessels through the PLA’s area of jurisdiction. All passenger vessels, tugs, reporting vessels and vessels above 20 metres in length are required to carry VHF radios for monitoring broadcasts and large ship movements.
The two centres are equipped with the latest daylight viewing, computerised radar displays, providing automatic tracking of vessels from the seaward limit of the PLA's jurisdiction up to Greenwich.
At both stations the officer in charge acts as the Harbourmaster’s representative to advise masters of vessels and give any Special Directions which may become necessary, to co-ordinate procedures in the event of incidents or emergencies and to enforce the PLA's rules for navigation, as well as ensuring the efficient movement of vessels.
Effective liaison and communication is maintained at all times between the two VTS Centres, the local Emergency Services and the Maritime & Coastguard Agency (MCA). In the event of an emergency on the Thames, the officer in charge at the VTS Centre will alert the appropriate Emergency Services and normally co-ordinate effective response procedures for dealing with the particular emergency until relieved of this duty by a more senior officer. The MCA has responsibility for the co-ordination of any search and rescue operation, which is likely to form the initial phase of a marine emergency incident in the port.
The PLA operates a fleet of patrol vessels to support the monitoring and enforcement of the PLA's regulations on the Thames. Their duties also include the inspection of river works and the provision of advice and assistance to those using the River.
The Service also works closely with the Marine Support Unit, Metropolitan Police, and the Essex Police, Marine Division.
Under the provision of the Pilotage Act 1987, the PLA is the "Competent Harbour Authority" responsible for the provision and regulation of pilotage in the London Pilotage District.
The London Pilotage District extends from the outer estuary to Putney.
The PLA's current Pilotage Directions should be consulted for details of those vessels for which pilotage is compulsory. When navigating in the London Pilotage District, vessels subject to compulsory pilotage must have on board an authorised Port of London Pilot or be under the conduct of a Master or bona fide First Mate who holds a valid Pilotage Exemption Certificate for that vessel.
All authorised London Pilots are master mariners who are trained and directly employed by the PLA. The PLA's Pilotage regime is administered from the Port Control Centre at Gravesend.
“The Port of London comprises the entire tidal Thames,
from Margate/Clacton-on-Sea to Teddington - some 95 miles in all.
It includes over 100 wharves and terminals, many of which are presently operational.”
All incidents on the river are thoroughly investigated by the relevant area Harbourmaster, who will report his findings to the Chief Harbourmaster who will decide the appropriate action. Port of London River Byelaw 7 requires masters of vessels which have sunk, grounded, lost an anchor, been damaged or caused damage, or involved in pollution, to report the details immediately to the Harbourmaster and subsequently provide a written report of the incident.
The Chief Harbourmaster may order a formal inquiry to be held with the person(s) concerned. He may also initiate legal proceedings against the person(s) concerned, or issue a Formal Warning, or he may decide to take no further action, depending upon the circumstances of the case. All serious incidents are reported to the PLA Board.
In the case of incidents involving pilots or pilotage exemption certificate holders, the Chief Harbourmaster may hold a summary inquiry and give warnings and reprimands as appropriate. The Port of London Authority is empowered to suspend or revoke an authorisation of a pilot who has been guilty of any incompetence or misconduct affecting his capability as a pilot. Similarly the PLA may suspend or revoke a pilotage exemption certificate.
The primary purpose of an incident investigation is to ascertain the probable causes of an incident, (from both a safety and regulatory perspective) to promulgate any lesson to be learned, and to take any action deemed appropriate to avoid them in the future. On occasion, Government agencies such as the MCA or the Marine Accident Investigation Branch may elect to investigate an incident.
“The tidal range of the River Thames is as much as 7 metres and the River flows at a speed of some 3 knots.”