Cory is one of the UK’s leading recycling and waste management companies. To help London manage its recyclable and non-recyclable waste, Cory uses river-based infrastructure.
Non-recyclable waste is currently received at four riverside waste transfer stations (WTS) where it is prepared for incineration at Cory’s energy from waste facility.
Cory was considering the acquisition and redevelopment of two wharves in Barking Creek on the River Thames as a fifth riverside waste transfer station.
Due diligence support
To inform their purchase decision Cory undertook feasibility studies to understand whether the site would meet their operational needs.
NASH Maritime was asked to undertake a Navigational and Marine Environmental Due Diligence assessment.
To prepare the navigational assessment we considered how the wharves would be used by the conventional Cory tug and barge operations, the potential impacts on third parties and ways to mitigate them.
We also provided an overview of local or national designations Cory needed to take account of along with which marine or river works licences would be needed to support the redevelopment including technical studies or surveys that would be required.
Navigational Risk Assessment
Having decided to take forward the redevelopment of Rippleway Wharf, to gain consent to proceed a Navigation Risk Assessment (NRA) was required of the construction and operation of the new riverside waste transfer station.
NASH Maritime was asked to undertake the assessment.
To assess the navigation risk associated with the proposed works and operations we:
1. Identified potential navigation hazards - bringing together standard navigation information, historical vessel traffic data, river user information and incident data.
2. Ran tug and barge trials – designing and managing the trials including drone and AIS data for later review.
3. Undertook a qualitative review of the hazards and impacts.
4. Engaged with stakeholders – consulting with the Port of London Authority, commercial and recreational users in the area to confirm understanding and identify gaps.
5. Identified key mitigations, design revisions and risk control measures.
In consideration of all of the evidence collected and assessed we concluded that, if all the additional risk controls identified through the NRA process are taken forward, the construction and operational phases of the Rippleway Wharf WTS project will not pose an unacceptable risk to navigation in the area.
