The end for the Duck tours

THE Duck tours that have operated on the Thames in London for many years will end this month owing to the company loosing its slipway into the river.

The tours are operated with an amphibious Duck boat, that takes passengers on board on the streets of London then transport them into the water by a slipway, cruising the river.

'Super' sewer

But the construction of a new 15 miles long 'super' sewer at the site by Thames Water means that the boats will no longer get access to the Thames, with the service ending on Sunday 17th September.

The company operating the tours state that the vehicles have carried 1.8 million people since its inception, but has not been without it problems as during 2013, its tours were suspended after one of its amphibious vessels, Cleopatra, caught fire whilst on the river with passengers on board. (Poor maintenance caused sinkings.)

Jumping into the river

The Duck boat that caught fire and sank in the Thames had 30 people on board, with passengers jumping into the river to escape the flames, though there were no fatalities. A narrowboat on the river at the time stopped to help in the rescue of people in the water. Two other such boats sank at Liverpool, with them all being suspended until they were considered safe.

Efforts have been made to find another way into the Thames for the Duck boats, but was unsuccessful.