ABOUT TOWER RNLI STATION
Based just under Waterloo Bridge on the north side of the Thames, Tower Lifeboat is the dedicated search and rescue resource for central London, covering 16 miles of the Thames between Barking Creek and Battersea.
We are the RNLI’s busiest station. London is a densely populated capital city with a well used river.
Unlike coastal crews who respond to pagers, we ensure that there is a full crew on the station 24/7 and 365 days a year. To enable that to happen, our volunteer crew of 55 work at least two 12hr shifts per month at the station, supported by 10 permanent crew.
In addition to search and rescue we have a proactive marine safety and accident prevention role. We patrol the river at busy times including large events such as boat races, New Year and other festivities. The lifeboat is often tasked to provide first aid treatment to passengers on tour and party boats, and to assist the recovery of bodies from the river. We provide a measure of assurance with our presence in a variety of situations.
Our history
A new search and rescue service for the River Thames was announced on 22 January 2001. The RNLI was asked by the UK government to provide lifeboat cover – the first time ever covering a river rather than estuarial waters. This came as a result of the findings of the Thames Safety Inquiries into the collision between the pleasure cruiser The Marchioness and the dredger Bowbelle, which resulted in the loss of 51 lives in 1989.
Since Tower Lifeboat Station opened on 2nd January 2002 at noon, there have been 7573 launches with 303 lives saved. These numbers continues to rise, whilst we have launched 85 times to date in 2019 (as of 06.03.19). Originally stationed at Tower Pier next to the Tower of London, the lifeboat station quickly established the RNLI within the river community.
The Lifeboat Station has since moved to purpose built facilities in the former Waterloo Police Pier. Uniquely we retain the name of our original location, Tower.
