Isle of Dogs Life

Sitting in West India Dock is the superyacht Kahalani which was built by Feadship from The Netherlands, they launched Kahalani in 2010. The superyacht has a an overall length of 55.05 m beam of 10.3 m, a draught of 3.47 m and a volume of 891 GT.

Kahalani features exterior design by De Voogt Naval Architects and interior design by Rémi Tessier, with naval architecture by De Voogt Naval Architects.

Up to 11 guests can be accommodated on board the superyacht, Kahalani, and she has accommodation for 13 crew members, including the ship’s captain.

It looked like the ship was up for sale for around 42 million euro in 2023 but do not know if its was sold or not. Feadship are one of the top builders of superyachts in the world.

After looking at the ships in West India Dock, my eyes was taken by a new sculpture near Wood Wharf,
it is one of the newest additions to Canary Wharf’s permanent art collection. Whale on the Wharf comprises of 5 tonnes of plastic waste pulled out of the ocean, it is a reminder of the millions of tonnes of plastic waste in our oceans.

Scientists estimate there are over 150 million tonnes of plastic in our oceans, with an estimated 8 million tonnes added every year.

In order to show just how much plastic waste produced by our cities ends up in our waterways, the artist/architect duo Jason Klimoski and Lesley Chang (StudioKCA) worked with the Hawaii Wildlife Fund to pull as much of it as they could from the Pacific and Atlantic Oceans in just under 4 months, and then shaped that waste into Whale on the Wharf.

The artists make the important point that “Not all of the 150,000,000 tons of plastic in our oceans is intentionally placed there- or even waste. Some of the plastic we were finding may have been from plastic bins and baskets washed into the ocean from the Tsunami that struck Japan almost 15 years ago. Global warming, severe storms, and natural disasters increasingly affect our cities and waterways, causing untold damage to human and marine populations.

Whale on the Wharf is just one piece within the Canary Wharf public art collection. The site has over 100 artworks.

The excitement in West India Dock continues with the arrival of the RSS Formidable of the Singapore Navy.

The Multi-mission Missile Frigate of the Formidable class was built by DCNS, Lorient, Brittany in France. The ship was launched in 2004 and commissioned in 2007. The ships homeport is Changi Naval Base in Singapore.

The ship has a length of 114.8 m (376 ft 8 in), Beam 16.3 m (53 ft 6 in) and Draught 6.0 m (19 ft 8 in). It has a top speed of 27 knots (50 km/h; 31 mph),range of 4,200 nautical miles (7,800 km) and crew of 71, excluding air crew detachment of approx. 19.The ship carries a S-70B Seahawk multi-mission capable naval helicopter.

RSS Formidable (68) is the lead ship of the Formidable-class stealth frigate of the Republic of Singapore Navy. Since its launch it has taken part in a number of naval exercises all over Asia and beyond.

The Singapore Navy’s RSS Formidable will be running a ship tour for Singaporeans on the 2 – 4 May 2025 but not sure if there will a general tour.

After a quiet period, West India Dock is attracting a number of interesting ship, one of the best places to see the ship is from Wood Wharf where there are great views across the water.

After the excitement of the London Marathon yesterday. In a more serene West India Dock, we have seen the arrival of the one of the largest tall ships in the world. The 65 m (213 ft) Alexander von Humboldt II is a German sailing ship which was built as a replacement for the historical original Alexander von Humboldt which was also used as a training ship.

The Alexander von Humboldt II was launched in 2011 and was the first tall ship built-in Germany since 1958. The ship has the distinctive green hull like its predecessor and has been built with a traditional barque rig with 24 sails with a sail area of 1.360 m². In favourable wind conditions, she can reach up to 14 knots. Unlike her predecessor, the Alexander von Humboldt II has up to date modern technology including radar, radio and satellite communication, electronic charts, life rafts, two high-speed dinghies.

The ship is owned and operated by Deutsche Stiftung Sail Training (German Sail Training Foundation / DSST), based in the barque’s homeport Bremerhaven. DSST is a non-profit, charitable organization. Its aims are to provide traditional high seas sailing for people of all ages, but especially for young men and women aged 15-25. The ship has a volunteer crew of up to 25 and up to 54 trainees at a time, Most journeys take between five days and two weeks, but there are also day trips.

The ship lasted visited West India Dock in 2016 and at this time it is not known how long she will be in dock.

An interesting visitor to West India Dock is the Fortescue Green Pioneer which is the world’s first dual-fuelled ammonia-powered vessel.

The Singapore-flagged vessel Fortescue Green Pioneer has arrived in the UK to demonstrate the viability of ammonia as a sustainable marine fuel.

The vessel is the first of its kind, powered by four-stroke engines, two of which are capable of being fuelled by ammonia and diesel.

Ammonia can reduce greenhouse gas emissions when used for shipping. Fortescue Green Pioneer was docked at the Port of Southampton before travelling to West India Dock to showcase its technology and capabilities to key maritime stakeholders, partners and the public.

West India Dock welcomes a visit from a number of French Navy ships with the arrival of FS Leopard (A748), FS Lynx (A751), FS Guepard (A752) and FS Lion (A755).

All the ships are Léopard-class training ships built for the Marine Nationale (French Navy) to train French officer-candidates in basic seamanship. There are eight of these vessels built. They were built by La Perrière in Lorient, Ateliers et Chantiers de la Manche (ACM) in Saint-Malo, and Société Française de Construction Navale (SFCN). These vessels have a secondary role of anti-pollution work and coastal patrol.

In 1978 the French Navy decided to build eight vessels to provide practical training in the operation and navigation of naval vessels. All vessels of the class were named after animals and the class is commonly referred to as “the menagerie”.

Over the years, many NATO ships have visited West India Dock and these four provide a lot of interest on a cold grey winters day.

If you visit Canary Wharf regularly, you would have noticed activity for a few months around the middle dock. Now all has been revealed with the opening of Eden Dock.

In a pioneering partnership with the Eden Project, Canary Wharf have turned part of the historic Middle Dock, into Eden Dock, a waterfront oasis of interconnected pontoons and aquatic islands. Eden Dock with its plants and the soothing sound of water, offers some tranquillity in the heart of Canary Wharf.

Eden Dock is designed to elevate mental and physical wellbeing through the power of nature. Walk the boardwalks and explore some of the new habitats for diverse wildlife.

In Eden dock is Nature Rising which is a larger-than-life installation celebrating the opening of dock.

You will find 21 figures emerging from the greenery and water to create a trail, taking you from the greenery of Jubilee Park to the floating gardens of Eden Dock.

Each of the figures have been hand crafted from moss and dried flowers to create statues which represent the blending of the natural world with urban life. The artwork, crafted by leading bespoke topiary specialists Agrumi, invites the public to immerse themselves in nature and take time out for relaxation and reflection.

After a time, these mossy people will be rehomed in permanent sites across the Canary Wharf estate where they will be able to enjoyed for years to come by visitors and residents alike.

If you are inspired by the Great River Race to have a go in a Dragon Boat, there is an opportunity by attending the Wave Walkers Dragon Boat Team Open Day at the Docklands Sailing and Watersports Centre, Westferry Rd E14 3QS on Sunday 6th October 11am – 2pm.

Wave Walkers is the first and only Dragon Boat team in London set up to support people affected by cancer, be it directly, as a carer, family member or practitioner plus anyone over 18 who might enjoy being out on the water.

Dragon boating is a fantastic activity to support physical and mental health for anyone to enjoy. The team focus is on wellbeing, empathy and understanding, we prioritise that everyone has a positive experience and we support each other when life gets rough.

The Docklands Sailing and Watersports Centre is one of the hidden gems of the Isle of Dogs which enable people young and old to enjoy the experience of various Water activities.

An interesting visitor in West India Docks is the MV Arctic Sunrise an Icebreaker ship operated by Greenpeace. It was built-in Norway in 1975 and was named Polarbjorn (Polar Bear). In the early 2000s, it was involved in anti- whaling campaigns, one of the most famous when it collided with a Japanese Whaling ship in 2006.

Its most dramatic incident was in 2013, the ship participated in Greenpeace protests against oil drilling activities by the Russian energy company Gazprom at the Prirazlomnaya oil rig in the Pechora Sea. Greenpeace opposes oil drilling in the Arctic on the grounds that oil drilling damages the Arctic ecosystem, and that no safety plans are in place to prevent oil spills. On 18 September, the crew of Arctic Sunrise circled the Prirazlomnaya oil rig, while three crew attempted to board the platform. In response, the Russian Coast Guard seized control of the ship and detained the activists. The ship was later towed by a coast guard vessel to the Russian Arctic port of Murmansk. The Arctic Sunrise crew consisted of 30 members from 16 nationalities.

The Russian government intended to charge the Greenpeace activists with piracy, which carries a maximum penalty of fifteen years of imprisonment. The Netherlands asked the International Tribunal for the Law of the Sea to order Russia to release a Greenpeace ship and the activists who were on board.

The 30 activists were all released from prison due to an amnesty in celebration of the 20th anniversary of Russia’s post-Soviet constitution, but the ship remained in Russian port until June 2014. Arctic Sunrise returned to the Netherlands in 2014 almost a year after it was stormed by Russian security forces.

Environmental protection ships are not uncommon in the docks with in recent years with visits from other Greenpeace ships and others

Regular readers will know that Isle of Dogs Life has followed the work of Frank Creber and other East London artists for many years. In a new exhibition, Bow Arts presents an exhibition exploring the past and present of east London, bringing together the historical paintings of the East London Group with their 21st century contemporaries.

Philippa Beale

Inspired by the East London Group’s scenes of the old East End, 20 painters from the Urban Contemporaries group, including Philippa Beale, Doreen Fletcher, Timothy Hyman RA and Ben Johnson, have created new works to be shown alongside their historical counterparts.

Frank Creber

Exploring the artists’ shared passion for immortalising, celebrating and unpicking the streets and scenes of east London, the show will explore the city across time remembering long-demolished buildings, revealing hidden streets, and celebrating communities from the 1920s to the present day. A newly commissioned sound piece, made by an artist local to the Nunnery Gallery, will also provide an atmospheric soundscape to the exhibition.

Elwin Hawthorne. The Guardian Angels. 1931

The historic East London Group began with evening painting classes in Bethnal Green; made up of mostly working-class men and women, the group painted what surrounded them (the East End) capturing their city in a way never previously seen. Taught by painters John Cooper (1894-1943) and Walter Sickert (1860-1942), amongst others, the group became enormously successful despite the upper-class prejudices of the time, exhibiting at Whitechapel Gallery and National Gallery, Millbank (now Tate Britain) and representing Britain in the Venice Biennale in 1936.

Only in recent years has the Group gained the historical recognition it deserves, and this show will present work from artists including Elwin Hawthorne, Cecil Osbourne, Grace Oscroft, Henry Silk and the Steggles brothers, including works never previously seen publicly. Viewers will be able to explore Bow Road, Bethnal Green, and Grove Hall Park (behind the Nunnery Gallery), as well as canals, lumber yards and breweries, witnessing through these fascinating depictions the face of a changing London during the inter-war years.

David Hepher – North Face

The accompanying contemporary works explore a city changing at an even faster rate, capturing the buildings that have been dismantled and recreated, and the historic urban remnants that defiantly remain. With subjects including the brutalist Robin Hood estate before its demolition, the regenerated walkways of east London’s canals, and the ever-growing urban skyline, many of the works will hang next to their historic inspirations, presenting an intriguing comparison between the London of now, and that of nearly 100 years ago.

Doreen Fletcher

The exhibition has been curated by Alan Waltham (East London Group) and Frank Creber and Ferha Farooqui (Urban Contemporaries) together with the Nunnery Gallery.

Alex Pemberton

Symposium – there is a Symposium to accompany the exhibition on Saturday 19 October,1-5pm, at the Nunnery Gallery. Featuring voices from leading contemporary painters and thinkers, this half-day symposium will dive into the works and lives of the East London Group and the longstanding legacies and impact of their work on a generation of artists today. Speakers will also include Alan Waltham (Curator of the East London Group works), Ben Johnson amongst others. Due to the size of the gallery, space is limited. Therefore, the Symposium is by ticket only and you can obtain a ticket via the event page which you can find here

Publication – There will be a book to accompany the exhibition published by Batsfords Books with images of all the works in the show and more. Batsford’s history dates back to 1843, and since then it has forged a strong reputation for niche publishing.
Book available here

The Urban Contemporaries Group was set up in 2019 by Frank Creber and Ferha Farooqui to bring together figurative painters, interested in exploring the urban experience. They curate ambitious responses to subjects, responding with drawing as a starting point, painting as the common medium and individual encounters with urbanised life as the dominant motif. They conceive themed shows that reflect upon the urban condition.

For more information, visit the Bow Arts website here