Chiswick lifeboat crew were on exercise on 22 March when they were tasked to a barge drifting beam-on towards Hammersmith Bridge. The barge’s engine had stalled and would not restart, and she couldn’t deploy her anchor. The lifeboat took the barge, which at 36 tonnes was 10 times the lifeboat’s weight, under tow to her mooring. Chiswick Station Manager Wayne Bellamy says: ‘The barge was floating towards Putney with many rowers and other river users out on the water on a fine day. If the lifeboat had not halted her progress speedily, the incident could have become grave.’