A selection of clips taken and edited together from a VHS tape shot onboard Cory Environemtal tug MERSINA (1955) which can be seen towing barges with yellow box containers inside, these containers and barges transport Londons rubbish/refuse up and down to Thames to various sites to be processed. As this footage shows an immense skill and expirence is needed by the Thames Lighterman and crews to tow and navigate these barges upriver through Londons bridges on the strong flood tide with just a few feet to spare!
Cory was founded in 1896 as William Cory and Son Ltd and are the longest serving lighterage company still to be working on the Thames and provide a key role in transporting cargo on water and keeping many polluting lorries off the roads.
The tug MERSINA was sold by Cory to GPS Marine in 2013 and now operates as GPS VINCIA
You can watch a video showcase of the company and what they do here - vimeo.com/2455...