Chelsea Creek

An exclusive development at Chelsea Creek in London was the site where Rebel Marine used its modular crane pontoon to assist in some interesting marine civil engineering works.

Formerly known as the Lots Road Power Station this disused gas and oil-fired power station located on the River Thames was originally built to supply electricity to the London Underground system. Constructed in 1902 it was decommissioned a century later. The power station site is now part of the Chelsea Waterfront development, with the building converted into exclusive riverside apartments.

Rebel Marine, in partnership with Diveco Marine, deployed their Modular Crane Pontoon with a Heila HLM 3-2S crane, hydraulic grab bucket with 360° rotator, spud legs, and the Rebel Five 5-metre aluminium workboat. The equipment was disassembled at our Isle of Wight yard, transported by lorry through London, and reassembled at Chelsea Creek.

Because of several pedestrian footbridges across the creek, it was not possible for a conventional crane barge to gain access into the creek from the River Thames.

The task was to create a safe working platform by the creek wall for extending and repairing rainwater outlets. Additionally, the crane with a grab bucket would place stone-filled gabion baskets where bed scouring had occurred. Due to tidal conditions, some work could only be done at specific times.

All materials had to be moved from the quayside onto the pontoon before the tide fell. The crane pontoon was then grounded alongside the site location. Using the grab bucket the creek mud was removed and the gabion basket placed. It was then filled with stone again using the grab. The mud was then backfilled around the gabions. In this process it was interesting to come across the industrial detritus from the time of the working power station. When the tide rose, work shifted to extending and repairing the pipes in the quay wall. This was then repeated for each of the four locations.

Our Modular Crane Pontoon showed how versatile it was in being able to be deployed to an extremely difficult to get to location in the heart of London.

Once the job was completed the crane pontoon was again dismantled, placed on the lorry and transported to the next waiting assignment.