BASILDON MP Angela Smith has named a new Port of London Authority survey boat.

The Labour MP officially launched the £315,000 Galloper, at the authority’s headquarters in Gravesend, Kent.

The 7.9-metre catamaran – named after a sandbank in the Thames Estuary – replaces the PLA survey boat, Brent, and will work alongside its sister ships Verifier and Yantlet in surveying the Thames between Teddington and the North Sea. Galloper has a top speed of 28 knots and a shallow draft, allowing it to survey parts of the river inaccessible to other PLA boats.

David Snelson, chief harbour master, said: “It also fits on a trailer, making it easy to transport for survey work for other organisations.”