A new land and water tour has been granted permission to take off from the Lack’s Dock slipway next to the MI6 building on the Thames in London.
London Amphibious Tours secured a 15-year lease with the Duchy of Cornwall to operate the world’s first fully electric amphibious passenger vehicle (APV) in partnership with Big Bus Tours.
The vessel was designed and manufactured by Seahorse Amphibious Vehicles, based in Slough and Southampton, whose diesel APVs are already in use on tours in Windsor, Liverpool and Cape Town.
This latest electric model is the result of ten years of development at Seahorse – the only company to design, manufacture and operate its own APVs.
Graham Lumley, executive chair of London Amphibious Tours and Seahorse, said: “We are immensely proud to have secured a long-term lease at this prestigious site, for which we thank the Duchy of Cornwall.
“We have been passionate about expanding the duck tour concept for many years, and today’s announcement underscores Seahorse’s continued evolution as a global leader.
“This marks a significant step in Seahorse’s strategy to establish a production line capable of delivering up to 24 APVs per year from our UK headquarters in Slough within the next 12 months.”
Ed Lumley, managing director of London Amphibious Tours and Seahorse, said: “We are delighted to announce our partnership with Big Bus Tours, the world’s largest operator of open-top sightseeing experiences.
“There is no partner better suited to work with us on this exciting opportunity, and we look forward to collaborating with Pat Waterman and the Big Bus team.”
Pat Waterman, executive chair of Big Bus Tours, added: “We are very excited to work with LAT and Seahorse to provide amphibious tours in London.
“These tours will become an iconic part of the London tourism scene, adding new layers of opportunity to our hop-on hop-off operations.
“We look forward to our recently announced Big Duck Tours brand becoming synonymous with ‘must do’ tourism activities in London.”
The new all-electric vehicles are designed to operate quietly and cleanly, with a maximum water speed of eight knots and limited land speed of 30 mph.
