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The photographs on this page were possible because the arrival of Ocean Majesty in the Upper Pool of London coincided with the occasional opening to the public of City Hall, which meant that I was able to view the whole event from the observation balcony surrounding the top floor of City Hall.
It took a lot of watching City Hall - weekend opening, Port of London Authority Cruise Ship Diary and Tower Bridge Lift Schedule and waiting for a day when a really big vessel required a Tower Bridge lift at the same time as City Hall was open.
The Port of London Authority gives the dates of cruise ship visits, but not the times, so when the date of a visit coincides with City Hall being open, it's still necessary to check the Tower Bridge Lift Schedule to ascertain whether the arrival of the cruise ship is within the hours when City Hall is open.
I think I monitored these three websites for a couple of years before I found a day when it was possible to view a cruise ship arriving in the Upper Pool from the vantage point of the observation balcony at the top of City Hall. I was surprised that the observation balcony wasn't crowded with other people wishing to take advantage of this rare opportunity, but there was only one other person up there who had gone there specifically to see Ocean Majesty pass through Tower Bridge. Apart from him, there were a few tourists, for whom the event was a bonus to their visit.
These pictures were captured using a Pentax *ist DS digital SLR camera.
If you want to see a larger image of any of these pictures, please click on the picture.
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We arrived at City Hall in plenty of time, as security is tight and it is necessary to go through airport-style security prior to being allowed into the building. As it happened, this didn't take long as there were few visitors early in the day. I am glad I now use a digital camera, as I don't have to worry about the scanning machine fogging my film! Once through security, we were free to take the lift to the top of the building and into the area known as London's Living Room, and from there we stepped out onto the observation balcony. Seabourn Pride was already berthed below Tower Bridge in the Lower Pool, and before long, we were treated to the view of Ocean Majesty coming up the Thames, attended by two tugs. Although cruise ships of this size can travel up the Thames and through Tower Bridge, they are unable to turn around this far up the Thames, so they have to be swung around down near Greenwich where the deep river channel is wider and either arrive or leave backwards. Ocean Majesty was swung around on her way up the Thames, and so she arrived stern first. Ocean Majesty started life as a car ferry and was converted later for cruising. She was built in 1966, so she's quite an old lady. Seabourn Pride is much more recent, having made her maiden vogayge in 1988. |
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Ocean Majesty passing Seabourn Pride while coming up the Thames backwards! |
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Tug Cobham pulls Ocean Majesty's stern while tug Sun Thames holds Ocean Majesty's bow steady. |
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Then came the moment we were waiting for: Tower Bridge was raised! For a ship the size of Ocean Majesty, the bascules are raised to their full extent. Ocean Majesty had a tug at each end to assist her through the bridge and into the Upper Pool, where the tugs then went about berthing her alongside HMS Belfast. |
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Ocean Majesty emerges backwards through Tower Bridge into the Upper Pool. Note the height of the bascules of Tower Bridge. |
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Ocean Majesty followed by tug Sun Thames. |
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Ocean Majesty passes up the Thames, with Tower 42, the Aviva Building, and The Gherkin in the background. |
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The next two pictures were taken from ground level after we'd left City Hall. The funnel picture was taken from the south side of the Thames. Part of the structure of HMS Belfast appears in that picture. The other picture was probably taken from Tower Bridge, although it's possible that I took it from the north side of the Thames. |
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Ocean Majesty's funnel. |
Ocean Majesty moored by HMS Belfast. |
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Once Ocean Majesty was safely berthed, the tugs left the Upper Pool. Tugs of this size are tall enough in their own right to require Tower Bridge to be lifted for them to pass under. |
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Tugs Sun Thames and Cobham leave the Upper Pool. Note the lower angle of the bastules of Tower Bridge. |
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These pictures of Seabourn Pride were taken from ground level, with Tower Bridge being the likely vantage point for the picture on the left, and Butler's Wharf being the likely vantage point for the close-up picture. |
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Seabourn Pride moored in the Lower Pool. The Port of London Authority's customs/immigration pontoon is to her port side. |
One Canada Square, Canary Wharf, peeps over the top of Seabourn Pride. |
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Cruise Ships Index (London Shipping Index Page)
Last Revised: 21st July, 2007.