Late start to the season for Colliers boat trips from Kew Bridge

Colliers Boats mooring at Kew Pier, from Strand on the Green in February

Boat trips delayed by admin following the introduction of new regulations, says owner of Colliers passenger boats

A lovely thing to do with visitors over the summer months in this part of west London is to take a boat trip on the River Thames from the pier at Kew Bridge, either downstream to Westminster or upstream to Hampton Court.

The services usually run from the beginning of April until the end of September, but this year the start of the season has been delayed because the family firm is still trying to “jump through hoops” to get their boats signed off as fit to run, following the introduction of more stringent measures for older passenger boats, owner Danny Collier told The Chiswick Calendar.

The new Merchant Shipping (Safety Standards for Passenger Ships on Domestic Voyages) regulations came into force in December 2022, requiring older UK passenger vessels to meet updated safety standards by their first survey after 29 December 2024, enhancing fire protection, life-saving appliances, and vessel stability.

READ ALSO: Could this be the last season for Colliers boat trips?

The legislation was the result of a review of ‘Grandfather Rights’ associated with standards for older domestic passenger vessels against the backdrop of the Thames Safety Inquiry on the Marchioness accident, in which 51 people lost their lives.

The Connaught

A key provision of the act is that boats in certain categories have to meet a 110% buoyancy standard. If a boat has a large seating area, like Colliers’ vessels, they have to prove that in a case where that area became swamped with water, the other compartments of the boat would keep it afloat.

Colliers operates several older boats, including the Connaught, built in 1911, the Clifton Castle, built in 1926, and the Princess Freda, also built in 1926, one of the historic fleet of Little Ships which took part in the evacuation of Dunkirk in World War II.

READ ALSO: Dunkirk ‘Little Ships’ assemble at Chiswick Pier for 85th anniversary trip

Princess Freda

The Port of London now has to sign off Colliers’ risk assessments, and Danny says they are late starting this season because the authority has taken so long to do the paperwork.

The boats have to take a test, carried out by the Maritime and Coastguard Agency, to check they would stay afloat when the equivalent weight of 250  people is moved around. Connaught had an extra bulkhead fitted over the winter and is due to take her test on Friday.

“She’s done the test twice before and passed”, Danny told me.

He led a successful campaign at the time the legislation was going through parliament ensure older passenger boats were not banned from the river altogether.

“I think they wanted to get rid of old boats. They don’t want old boats on the river”.

Collier family, Dan (L), John (R) and John’s son Alex

The Collier family has been operating boats on the Thames for more than 50 years, since Danny’s father established the company in 1974. It is now run by Danny and his brother John.

Over the years the river has become much busier with passenger services below Putney. The Cockney Sparrow is now limited to to operating upstream of Putney. While she can continue doing the trips to Hampton Court, “the main money is in the trips to Westminster”, said Danny.

They hope to have the boats back in service and to start operating boat trips from Kew Pier at the beginning of May. Trips can be booked with Thames River Boats:

thamesriverboats.co.uk

(L) Clifton Castle; (R) Cockney Sparrow