London is a popular location for the production of TV and Films (apparently the third largest centre for film production in the world) with it’s many iconic locations including the various waterways that have featured on screen over the decades.
Towards the end of 2022 the River Thames and the Dock areas of East London have once again become the focus of attention with the Royal Docks being both a logistics base and a filming location. The production is said to be an action-comedy called ‘Back in Action’ being produced for Netflix.
It is interesting to note that this production may be one of the last to feature the Rank Hovis Mill in Royal Victoria Dock (which is accidental as it should have been demolished before filming took place but that demolition is running behind schedule!) but many of the new places being created will certainly be of equal interest to production crews as demonstrated with the Royal Albert Dock ABP ghost town that has featured in numerous shoots already.
Some of the action takes place on the water and at night with a pair of very smart boats appearing to be the focus of the action. Built by Cornish boatbuilders Cockwells the pair are a yacht tender called GRACE and Duchy Sport motor launch called ROCK ANGEL – the pair having arrived in London by road.
Once again Livett’s are providing a range of their vessels to support the filming works alongside a large-scale collaboration with a number of London based Thames operators.
The following table lists the operators and their vessels that have been identified supporting this filming project.
| Operator | vessel | image |
|---|---|---|
| Livett’s | ||
| BRAVO LIMA GB |  | |
| ECHO LIMA 1 |  | |
| EQUITY |  (just arrived back in London after refit) | |
| INDIGO LIMA |  | |
| ROMEO LIMA |  | |
| SCHELDEMOND II |  | |
| Pontoons – used as mobile lighting platform | DART |  |
| DEVELOPER |  | |
| Cockwells | ||
| GRACE |  | |
| ROCK ANGEL |  | |
| Diving Services UK | ||
| PIONER ‘DB’ |  | |
| Thamescraft Dry Docking | ||
| EMILIA D |  | |
| FELIX |  | |
| JENNY D |  | |
| Thames RIB Experience | ||
| ULTIMATE |  | |
| Thames Rockets | ||
| ROCKET ONE |  | |
| Thames Tigers | ||
| TIGER ONE |  |
It is possible that other vessels were used both within the Docks and also on the River Thames but only confirmed sightings are included in the above table.
A few close-up shots of the hoists being used to hold the lighting rigs in support of the filming.
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