York river cruiser strikes maintenance deal with marine electrical specialists

City Cruises York has announced a three-year maintenance contract with marine specialists Pearson Electrical, to upgrade and maintain the five vessels in its fleet.

The deal follows City Cruises’ acquisition by London-based mirror company, City Cruises, which operates the biggest fleet of tourist boats on the River Thames, alongside a smaller operation in Poole, Dorset.

Formerly known as YorkBoat, City Cruises York was fully compliant with Maritime and Coastguard Agency standards for electrical components and wiring on their vessels.

However, the company is now upgrading to comply with the more stringent standards operated by the Port of London Authority, which is the benchmark used by its new owners.

So far, Pearson has carried out a full electrical rewire on City Cruises York’s River Prince Vessel. The other four boats - River King, River Duchess, River Palace and Captain James Cook - have so far undergone a partial overhaul, with plans to fully rewire all of them this coming winter.

The two companies are now preparing to sign a three-year ongoing maintenance contract that will see Pearson Electrical continuing to keep the City Cruises York fleet operational.

This contract follows on from City Cruises’ acquisition by London-based mirror company, City Cruises, which operates the biggest fleet of tourist boats on the River Thames, alongside a smaller operation in Poole, Dorset.

Mark Mattinson, sales and marketing manager for City Cruises York, said: “We became part of the London-based company on 5th May and that acquisition has taken us to a new level, in terms of our marketing and customer reach.

“We were already the biggest river cruise vessel operator in the North but this new partnership has brought us under the umbrella of a much larger organisation, with all its experience of running boat trips and events in our country’s biggest tourist city.

“We’re busy working with the London team to shape exciting plans for growing our business. New opportunities for us include tapping into their experience of international tourism, and their bigger entertainment and corporate hospitality offering.”

Matt added: “We researched industrial electricians to carry out this work and Pearson Electrical really shone through due to their marine experience and expertise.

“We particularly wanted to support another local company and we really consider Hull and surrounding area to be our marine base in terms of suppliers and infrastructure.

“They are a team of really helpful and knowledgeable guys go out of their way to do a great job. Because of their outstanding level of industry expertise, we can have complete confidence that they will get the job done to the very highest standards.”

City Cruises York is so far experiencing its busiest ever tourist season, with passenger numbers up 30% year-on-year.