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Port of London Authority

AINA Representative: Mr James Trimmer - Head of Planning & Partnerships

London River House
Royal Pier Road
Gravesend
Kent
DA12 2BG

Telephone: 01474 562380
Fax: 01474 562281

Email: james.trimmer@pla.co.uk,
Website: www.pla.co.uk 

Constitutional status 

The Port of London Authority is a public trust established in 1908 to ‘administer, preserve and improve the Port of London’. Currently it is constituted under the Port of London Act 1968 and Harbour Revision Orders of 1975, 1992, 1999 and 2003. It has no equity capital and all its operations are financed from revenue with no outside support. Finance for capital works comes from internally generated funds, supplemented by commercial loans and leasing.

Description of navigation

Both urban and rural in nature, the navigation consists of tidal river, a port and estuary.

A brief history of the navigation

London’s river has been the centre of its development over the centuries. Small craft have been a major feature of transport, and now recreation on the tidal river.

As Tilbury developed, the enclosed docks were steadily shut and eventually turned over to developers along with the riverside warehouses with most of them all gone by 1981. The East India, London, Surrey and St Katherine docks closed in the late 1960s and early 1970s. Between 1980 and 1983 the West India, Millwall and The Royal Docks were also shut.

With all its docks closed or sold off, the PLA now concentrates on managing safety on the tidal Thames. It is responsible for maintaining river channels for navigation, moorings, lights and buoys. The PLA also provides a wide range of services for shipping, including, since 1988, pilotage services.

The port of London and the trade it handles have changed a great deal since the heyday of the 1950’s and 1960‘s. To understand why, it is necessary to appreciate how the worlds sea-bourne trade has changed during that time.

Nowadays, with the bulk of London’s port facilities 20 miles or more down stream from the centre, Londoners would be forgiven for thinking they no longer had a port. Tower Bridge only raises for cruise and occasional war ships. However, despite the closure of the old docks and the wharves, London is still one of Britain’s leading ports. It handles considerable amounts of traffic, but few goods now arrive in London directly by sea. Instead, most are unloaded at terminals much farther down the Thames.

The area administered by PLA today covers 95 miles from the Thames estuary to Teddington, the largest UK port in geographical terms and has more than 70 operational wharfs. The only enclosed dock is independently operated port of Tilbury.

Current situation and use

The huge diversity of cargo handled in the Port of London added up to a total of 53.8 million tonnes in 2005, up from 53.3 million tonnes in the previous year and re-affirming London's place as one of the UK's top three ports.

There are more than 70 independently owned wharves, terminals and port facilities along the tidal River Thames. Vessels sailing to and from these port facilities – and all other craft on the tidal Thames - operate under the jurisdiction of the PLA, which is the statutory harbour, pilotage, navigation and conservancy authority for the tidal Thames from Teddington in west London out to the sea - a distance of 150 kilometres (95 miles).

As well as providing pilotage, hydrographic and vessel traffic services to commercial shipping, we also work to meet the needs of leisure users and all those who have an interest in the tidal Thames.

The PLA employed a total of 370 staff in 2004. This included 86 pilots, 27 officers in Vessel Traffic Services (VTS) and 92 personnel afloat in marine and harbour services. The remainder of the workforce comprises engineering, technical support and administrative staff.

Perfectly placed at the very heart of the prosperous markets of London and south-east, more than 21 million people live within a two-hour journey of the Port of London.

The Port of London contributes more than £3.4 billion to the region's economy each year and supports over 35,200 full-time jobs. These figures are certain to rise as the crucial role played by the London‘s port facilities continues in support of regional and national expansion.

Plans for the future

The agenda for future growth of the Port will be further fuelled as Government plans for the Thames Gateway regeneration gather pace. During the next five years, a series of investment projects totalling some £770 million investment is planned at Port of London terminals. The London Gateway container port development, which has been subject of a 'minded to grant' decision by Government, will ultimately have the capacity to handle 3.5 million containers per annum, making it the largest container port in the UK.

In this climate of expansion and growth, the PLA is determined to make the very best use of existing port facilities on the Thames. Central to this is the ’safeguarding’ of wharves for port operations. The PLA is also very closely involved with moves to re-activate a number of currently unused wharves in central London.

How we consult with our users

Both the Guide to Good Governance and the Port Marine Safety Code emphasise the importance of effective consultation by all ports with all stakeholders and beneficiaries. This includes all those who work in the port or use the tidal Thames in some way, as well as those that represent them.

It is therefore Board policy, that the PLA shall publish matters of relevance to, and encourage comment and contribution from, stakeholders and beneficiaries.

In particular, the PLA shall:

• Consult as early as is practicable with stakeholders and beneficiaries when changes to PLA legislation and policy are being considered;
• Include appropriate PLA staff in the consultation process;
• Maintain an effective consultation mechanism with appropriate stakeholders and beneficiaries on safety and other operational issues;
• Include appropriate practising port and river users in the ongoing work to identify navigational hazards, assess the risk of such hazards and recommend appropriate control and mitigation measures;
• Provide regular feedback on the Authority's performance, in particular its compliance with the Port Marine Safety Code, to all stakeholders and beneficiaries;
• Publish an annual review of PLA activity and achievements.

How we are structured

Navigation statistics

Boating statistics

The PLA does not require a licence or registration.

Requirements for boating

© Copyright 2012, AINA