A new search and rescue service for the River Thames was announced on 22 January 2001. The RNLI was asked by the Government to provide lifeboat cover, the first time it had been specifically asked to cover a river rather than estuarial waters. This came as a result of the findings of the Thames Safety Inquiries into the collision between the pleasure cruiser "Marchioness" and the dredger "Bowbelle", which resulted in the loss of 51 lives in 1989.