The Port of London Authority (PLA) Hydrographic Service issues, on a monthly basis, maximum (limiting) draught information for vessels using the Havens berths, which includes: Coryton, Shellhaven, Oikos and Calor.
The limiting draught for a vessel working these berths is determined, at the moment, by the ruling depth between Sea Reach No. 2 to 3, plus the height of tide. In addition, 0.9m for underkeel clearance on a rising tide is allowed in the calculation.
Ships’ agents should note that this guidance is issued for planning purposes only.
Passage times and proposed ETA for the intended arrival draught should always be checked with the Duty Port Controller at London VTS in advance, before any arrival is confirmed. It should be noted that further adjustment to ETAs and passage times may be required to allow for positive or negative tidal surges based on predicted or real-time tidal data. In addition to real time tidal monitoring, the PLA receives surge prediction data from the Met Office up to 36 hours in advance. Surge predictions can be of variable quality with accuracy increasing the closer the prediction to the time of the movement.
More detailed tidal and hydrographic information can be obtained from the PLA Hydrographic Service: Tel: 01474 562207 or from the PLA website at www.pla.co.uk.
