The German Olympic Committee wanted somewhere impressive and suitably German to use as a base during next years Olympics, so a test has been carried out to see if the cruise ship MS Deutschland could be moored in London Docklands.

It sometimes passes my flat on its way up to go through Tower Bridge, but can also – just about – fit into South Dock by Canary Wharf. I was pre-warned about its arrival at around midnight last night, but a long day had tired me out, and I knew their official photographer would be there to record the event, so slept through its careful squeeze through the dock gates.

Just as well though, as the midnight event took until 2:50am to complete, which would have been too much to cope with after a long day.

Did pop along at lunchtime though to take a look in its temporary mooring point, and watch all the city folk pulling out their cameraphones and scratching their heads as to what the German leviathan is doing there.

MS Deutschland in South Dock

Billy Smith, British Waterways’ dockmaster & tidal locks supervisor, said: “The operation to fit a vessel of this size into West India Lock is an impressive sight to behold, as there are literally just inches to spare. Bringing MS Deutschland into the Docks is a real achievement. The manoeuvre into the confined space of the lock shows how good planning, combined with the skill of the teams involved worked to ensure the berthing operation was successful.”

Image credit to British Waterways

Image credit to British Waterways

The ship is here for 36 hours – and I was advised that another largish ship is arriving in the docks at around 12:45 on Thursday, which is presumably just after the Deutschland is leaving. So that’s the date/time for your diaries if you are in the area.

MS Deutschland in South Dock

The ship will be back next July and will accommodate guests of the German Olympic Sports Confederation who has also announced that it will be using the Museum of London Docklands as ‘Deutsches Haus’ (Germany House) during the Games period.

A pity the Germans couldn’t have rented the offices above Cannon Street train station though, as that plot of land spent most of its London history as an enclave of Germany within London when it was the main trading base of the Hanseatic League in London. Would have been apt.

NEWSLETTER

Be the first to know what's on in London, and the latest news published on ianVisits.

You can unsubscribe at any time from my weekly emails.

Tagged with: ,
SUPPORT THIS WEBSITE

This website has been running now for over a decade, and while advertising revenue contributes to funding the website, it doesn't cover the costs. That is why I have set up a facility with DonorBox where you can contribute to the costs of the website and time invested in writing and research for the news articles.

It's very similar to the way The Guardian and many smaller websites are now seeking to generate an income in the face of rising costs and declining advertising.

Whether it's a one-off donation or a regular giver, every additional support goes a long way to covering the running costs of this website, and keeping you regularly topped up doses of Londony news and facts.

If you like what you read on here, then please support the website here.

Thank you

5 comments
  1. Oisin Rogers says:

    Lovely post, great photos, those Germans are very organised aren’t they. Perhaps an airship would have needed planning permission.

  2. Steve says:

    I was at west India dock today to look at her. Very impressive sight in such a tight space. Surprise arrival at lunch time was the arrival of 2 Belgian navy ships – Primula M924 and Godetia A960. They came into the dock accompanied by 2 tugs but docked by them selves with some very impressive parking.

  3. Stuart Parsons says:

    And pray might I ask, where am I now going to put my yacht during the Olympics ? Damn Germans.

  4. James Miller says:

    I was there when the Deutschland left. It was an impressive bit of work as there was only 1.4 metres to spare in the lock. I took a lot of pictures and they are on my web site.

    By the way, didn’t the Germans have something to do with site ckearance at Cannon Street?

  5. Where’s Buster when we need him?

    🙂

Home >> News >> Events and Tours