Port of London Authority
De Neumann began having thoughts on the potential for a port-control system while he was the commander of the Vigilant. These ideas followed on from considering such incidents as the accidental ramming of HMS Truculent by the Divina in 1950, the Norwegian vessel Baalbek's collision with the Nore Army Fort in 1953, and the disastrous North Sea flood that resulted in the flooding of Canvey Island, Foulness and the East Coast in 1953. In these and other situations, rescue and intelligence gathering were severely hampered by a lack of centralised command and control, which lead to a lack of situational awareness.
In 1953, de Neumann resigned his command after returning Vigilant from the Spithead Review and joined the Port of London Authority. He immediately suggested that a feasibility study of a port-control system be commenced. He then oversaw its development and ultimate installation at Gravesend, which was completed by 1960.
He served as Harbourmaster, and, after his health deteriorated as a result of his imprisonment in West Africa, Dockmaster at Tilbury.
Read more about this topic: Peter De Neumann
Famous quotes containing the words port, london and/or authority:
“O Captain! my Captain! our fearful trip is done,
The ship has weather’d every rack, the prize we sought is won,
The port is near, the bells I hear, the people all exulting,
While follow eyes the steady keel, the vessel grim and daring;
But O heart! heart! heart!
O the bleeding drops of red,
Where on the deck my Captain lies,
Fallen cold and dead.”
—Walt Whitman (1819–1892)
“Last night, party at Lansdowne-House. Tonight, party at Lady Charlotte Greville’s—deplorable waste of time, and something of temper. Nothing imparted—nothing acquired—talking without ideas—if any thing like thought in my mind, it was not on the subjects on which we were gabbling. Heigho!—and in this way half London pass what is called life.”
—George Gordon Noel Byron (1788–1824)
“There are always those who are willing to surrender local self-government and turn over their affairs to some national authority in exchange for a payment of money out of the Federal Treasury. Whenever they find some abuse needs correction in their neighborhood, instead of applying the remedy themselves they seek to have a tribunal sent on from Washington to discharge their duties for them, regardless of the fact that in accepting such supervision they are bartering away their freedom.”
—Calvin Coolidge (1872–1933)