Cargo Ship Fure Vinga Visits London
One of the more unusual visitors on the River Thames was “Fure Vinga”, a Swedish cargo vessel powered by an unusual battery hybrid propulsion system.
The ship, a chemical tanker owned by Furetank, arrived through Tower Bridge on 6th June 2022 to take up its mooring alongside the museum ship HMS Belfast in the Pool of London for two nights.
The ship was visiting London as part of the Marine Environment Protection Committee 78th session (MEPC-78) hosted by the International Maritime Organisation based in Lambeth near the Houses of Parliament.
Leaving London
On 8th June, Fure Vinga let go her lines from HMS Belfast and, guided by two tugs, headed downstream through Tower Bridge.
Ships Leaving the Pool of London
All larger ships visiting the Pool of London, the area of water between Tower Bridge and London Bridge, are guided by tugs. When they leave, they are taken out in reverse at walking speed, about a mile down river to Wapping where there is space to turn them around. Once the ship is facing out to sea, the tugs slip their lines and the ship proceeds under its own power and control under the direction of a Port of London maritime Pilot who gets off in the Thames Estuary.