Film water safety on the Orwell
The Orwell runs from Ipswich's Wet Dock under the high span of the Orwell Bridge, past wooded banks at Woolverstone and Pin Mill, to meet the Stour at Shotley, opposite the cranes of Felixstowe. It is a busy sailing river and a working one, with ships still trading up to Ipswich.
Safety boats and qualified safety crew who know tidal water, a written safety plan and risk assessment for your production, and cover placed to suit the scene, from a swim to a capsize on cue. Where the lower river widens and the wind gets up, we use larger, more seaworthy boats.
Who is in charge. Associated British Ports is the harbour authority for the port of Ipswich, and Harwich Haven Authority looks after the lower river and the harbour beyond it. We plan with whichever one the location falls under, and keep a radio watch on its channel.
Ships. A ship heading up to Ipswich fills much of the dredged channel, so people in the water and the boats covering them stay well outside it while it passes.
Mud and cold. Away from the channel, wide mudflats uncover at low water, soft enough to trap someone wading ashore, and the water is cold outside summer.
The Wet Dock. Boats enter the Wet Dock through a lock, its quaysides are high and the water is deep, so a dock-edge scene gets a boat inside the dock and a planned way out.
Drones. The Orwell is clear of restricted airspace from Ipswich to Shotley, with no zone within 4 km. Take-off from port land or near the bridge needs the owner's agreement.
Filming somewhere else? See all our film boat hire locations, or tell us where and we will find the right boat.
Associated British Ports is the harbour authority for the port of Ipswich, and Harwich Haven Authority looks after the lower river and the harbour beyond it. We plan with whichever one the location falls under.
Yes. Boats enter the Wet Dock through a lock, and its quaysides are high and the water deep, so a dock-edge scene gets a boat inside the dock and a planned way out.
No. The Orwell is clear of restricted airspace from Ipswich to Shotley, with no zone within 4 km, though take-off from port land or near the bridge needs the owner's agreement.
