First-ever electric vessel on the Thames exclusively for Tower of London tour

The Tower of London tourism cruising is undergoing a significant shift towards sustainability. The first-ever electric tourism boat, currently under construction at the Pendennis Shipyard in Cornwall, England, is a testament to this. This vessel, designed for the Tower of London River Tour, will brought to operation by Woods’ Silver Fleet and is anticipated to be a beacon of sustainable tourism in the UK.

The pristine vessel is the first of its kind in the United Kingdom, and it is built with lightweight aluminium design-based construction technology. A creative industry-first all-battery drive train incorporated extensive design and power profiling by Vulkan Marine. The team has agreed upon an EST Floattech Octopus Series battery bank, which will be rapidly charged between each tour from a two-megawatt shore charging facility.

"This new vessel represents the bridge between the past and the future of river tourism, building on the generations of experience the Woods family have been operating on the river whilst striving to lead the industry's push towards sustainability", says Chris Kangis, CEO of Woods Tours. "We are delighted to partner with Historic Royal Palaces for the Tower of London River Tour. The Tower of London is one of the most significant London landmarks on the river and the perfect match for the tour."

The attention to detail is planned to be reflected through clean, contemporary lines echoing the heyday of Thames River cruising during the 1920s and 30s. With expansive, awning-shaded sundecks, single-deck panoramic vistas, tailored wool-woven carpet, and generously adorned eco-leather seating, the vessel will have the onboard spoken tour experience created by British actor Martha Howe-Douglas, known for her writing and roles in BBC's international hit series Ghosts and Horrible Histories.

The factual live tour will be developed by leading historians and delivered with some wry twists of British satire by a trained actor.

Pendennis Shipyard, the renowned superyacht building firm, has been commissioned by Woods and is building a genuinely sustainable vessel which will have the capacity to cruise with 250 passengers a tour (500,000 passengers a year).

Toby Allies, Managing Director at Pendennis, said, "The start of the Thames Explorer project has been an exciting period for the yard and all the team involved. The aluminium construction specified in the project is all in-house, providing a perfect backdrop for some of our more experienced team members to transfer their skills and knowledge to a whole new generation of fabricators."

He continued, "The client's requirement for the vessel is also for it to be fully battery-powered, advancing our in-house capabilities in this area that, in turn, will transfer to other market sectors that we operate in."

"We are delighted to be partnering with Woods Tours on the first official Tower of London river tour.  For centuries, some of the most famous Kings and Queens in our nation's history approached the Tower by boat.  Now, even more, visitors will be able to experience a unique view of the Tower from the Thames, discovering more about the history of this remarkable place throughout their journey. We look forward to sharing the story with them!" Andrew Jackson, CBE, Governor of the Tower of London.

Due to its ingenious design, the project has been chosen to participate in the Clean Maritime Demonstration Competition Round 4 (CMDC4), financed by the UK Department for Transport (DfT) and executed by Innovate UK. CMDC4 is part of the Department’s UK Shipping Office for Reducing Emissions (UK SHORE) programme, a £206 million endeavour dedicated towards devising the technology essential to decarbonise the UK domestic maritime sector.

Ticket will be sold from the winter of 2024, and the vessel start its trip on the Thames for the first time in summer of 2025.