This documentary made in 1959 in the popular Look at Life series is from Volume 5 - Cultural History and takes a journey along the River Thames passing several famous buildings and monuments such as - County Hall, Royal Festival Hall, Shell Mex House which has the biggest clock face in London. Cleopatra's Needle, St Paul's Cathedral, Tower of London, Tower Bridge, Port of London Authority, Prospect of London Pub, Port of London Docks.
Location: England Various shots following a river pilot. He is seen disembarking from one boat and climbing up a rope ladder onto a large ship. Various shots of another river pilot, dressed in a cap, woollen jumper and sea faring jacket. He is seen at the wheel of his boat. Various shots of two river police pilots on the River Thames in London. They are filmed in the cab and on the deck of their boat. They pull up alongside some riverboat houses and talk to a woman who owns one of the them....
Research on hydrodynamic interaction indicates that if the speed of the ship near a bank is too high, the rudder may be less able to cope with the forces induced and control will be lost. The Nautical Institute highlights this in its latest Mars Report, in which an LPG carrier hit a barge being towed by a tugboat as a result of hydrodynamic forces.
A Japanese bulk carrier that has spilled more than 1,000 tons of oil since running aground off the coast of Mauritius has broken in two. Officials said the split was caused by a crack in a cargo hold, after the ship's condition deteriorated severely overnight. Emergency teams and thousands of volunteers have been racing to siphon off remaining fuel on board the ship.
