Not just an elegant decoration on the stark river walls but a possible lifeline for those caught in the dangerous waters of the River Thames.
Many of you will know of, or remember, the tragedy of pleasure boat the Marchioness, which took place on the night of August 20th, 1989. She was hit twice by the dredger Bowbelle between Cannon Street Railway Bridge and Southwark Bridge. Fifty-one out of the hundred and thirty-one young people enjoying a birthday party cruise were drowned in the worst loss of life on the River Thames since the Princess Alice disaster on September 3rd, 1878. There are harrowing accounts from survivors and from those who came to help including the Thames River Police and party boat the Hurlingham. To understand something of what it was like, read the Andrew Sutton’s powerful interview in the Guardian, August 9th, 2009.
Steven Norris, Minister of Transport from 1992 – 1996 is quoted in Hansard on 18th April, 1995, six years after the tragedy, in a reply to Nigel Spearing, MP, who asked him to reconsider his refusal to set up an independent review into “the rescue arrangements on the Thames as recommended by the Jury at the Inquest into the death of persons aboard the Marchioness on 20th August 1989.” Steven Norris replied “The river users liaison safety sub- committee of the London district marine safety committee has completed a review of craft available for rescue throughout the tidal Thames and made recommendations for the provision of lifesaving appliances, grab-chains and warning signs along the river banks.”
Rob Jeffries, Honorary Curator, of the Thames River Police Museum at Wapping, told me that “The chains on the river walls are a legacy of the Marchioness disaster. […] They were one of the many recommendations, from the Inquest and enquiries into the incident, which included the setting up of the four RNLI Stations on the tidal Thames.”
The final report of The Thames Safety Inquiry in January 2000, included a section on “Access to and from the River and Grab Chains” where Lord Justice Clarke concludes that: “The Port of London Authority be given the statutory power to require local authorities and other riparian owners to make such provision for life-saving appliances and means of escape from the river as the PLA thinks fit, at the authorities’ and owners’ expense.” And more specific details were to come later.
Most recently, published in September 2020, the PLA guide to A Safer Riverside, has a section on “Assisting the safe rescue of individuals” with paragraphs on Lifebuoys, Throw bags, Ladders, Steps and Grab Chains.” Of those, ladders and grab chains are fixed points and complement each other. If someone in the water is able to reach a chain, they can either wait for rescue, or make their way along to a ladder. “Ideally, continuous sagging grab chains should be provided on linear vertical river walls, piers and abutments.” As the rise and fall of Thames tides is considerable the PLA advise that there should be “three levels of grab chain, equidistant apart, fixed at a maximum horizontal spacing of 12.5m, with a catenary sag of 1.0m, with top fixings placed at a level of 0.5m above the level of the (MLWS) Mean High Water Spring tides. They are made of galvanised steel with welded links.”
Another interesting reference to grab chains occurs in Hansard on March 16, 2004, where a question was addressed by John Austin, then MP for Erith and Thamesmead, to the Secretary of State for Transport, David Jamieson, asking what representation he had received on “the installation of grab chains on the buttresses of Thames bridges in central London, and what consideration has been given to this and other safety measures, and which body is responsible for the installation of safety measures on bridges?”
The Minister replied that he had “not received any recent representations on the matter of grab chains on the buttresses of bridges in central London”, adding that “the London Coastguard officers liaise with the relevant local authorities and riparian landowners giving advice on the provision of safety equipment along the Thames.”
Grab chains have been fixed in places on some but not all of the central London Bridges. They include Tower Bridge; London Bridge; the Millennium Bridge; and the Blackfriars Bridges.
One example of a life saved by a grab chain and rescue by the RNLI Tower Lifeboat crew was in June 2017. Katy Stickland describes how “a man was found holding a dog and clinging onto chains attached to the embankment wall on the river Thames.” In the first instance, the Tower crew ” had launched after the UK Coastguard received reports of a dog in the water near St Thomas’ Hospital.” By the time they arrived on scene they found the man standing on a chain just above the waterline, with the dog in one hand and holding onto a higher chain with the other. The RNLI always attend to a pet in the water for fear that their owner, or a member of the public, will jump in to save it, so putting their lives at risk too. Their advice to anyone who sees a person, or animal in difficulty in the River Thames is to call 999, ask for the Coastguard, giving as much detail as possible so that the casualty can be found quickly.
A section in the Appendix to the City of London’s Riverside Strategy highlights the use of lifesaving equipment, including life buoys and grab chains, saying that equipment and access points should be retained and ideally improved upon for the future when necessary. Attached to this article is a map with a key indicating where grab chains, from two to four rows, can be found along the embankments under their jurisdiction.
If not aware already, you might start to notice grab chains more often but you will also see that their use is not universal. Different reaches of the Thames come under different authorities and involve different approaches. The PLA Handbook, A Safer Riverside, mentions alternatives to horizontal grab chains where due to “planning or listed building reasons” consent may not be given, suggesting instead the fitting of vertical grab chains with with handhold rings.
Further Information
The Thames Safety Inquiry, Final Report, Lord Justice Clarke
PLA guide to a Safer River, pp 16 – 22
