Coastal area to lose all-weather lifeboat

Just now

Josh CannIsle of Man

News image — Port St Mary will be left with only its D-class inshore lifeboat, like the one pictured, once its Trent is retired in 2028

RNLI A D-class rib-styled lifeboat carrying three RNLI volunteers on wild waves. — Port St Mary will be left with only its D-class inshore lifeboat, like the one pictured, once its Trent is retired in 2028

Port St Mary's all-weather lifeboat will be retired in 2028 and will not be replaced, the RNLI has confirmed.

The station will instead rely on a smaller D-class inshore lifeboat, with support from other lifeboat stations on the Isle of Man.

Meanwhile, Douglas will receive one of the charity's new coastal lifeboats, which are due to enter service from 2028.

The RNLI said the changes reflected how the sea was now used, with most rescues taking place close to shore.

RNLI A rendering of the proposed new lifeboat — An illustration of Douglas's new coastal lifeboat, set to join the service in 2028

Port St Mary's Trent lifeboat is part of a class introduced in 1994, which the RNLI will phase out by the end of 2028.

Douglas station, which will receive the new coastal lifeboat, has not been active since November last year, with disagreements between volunteers and management. In August, the RNLI asked the volunteer crew to reapply for their roles.

The coastal lifeboat is designed to work mainly within 10 nautical miles of the shore.

The RNLI said all-weather cover for the area would come from the Shannon class lifeboats at Peel and Ramsey, depending on where a casualty was.

It said its strategy required inshore lifeboats to have all-weather back-up within 60 minutes, which was achievable at Port St Mary.

There are no plans for redundancies, it added, and said Port St Mary's volunteer crew would continue to run the D-class lifeboat. The RNLI said any crew who no longer wanted a seagoing role would be offered other roles at the station.

Manx Scenes An RNLI crashes against Ramsey waves — All-weather cover for the area will come from the Shannon class lifeboats at Peel and Ramsey, the RNLI says

The RNLI said far fewer of its callouts were now to boats, with crews increasingly responding to people who set off from the beach, such as open water swimmers, kayakers and paddleboarders.

Between 2017 and 2024, 98% of its lifeboat callouts were within 10 nautical miles of the shore, compared to 0.2% that were more than 25 miles out.

RNLI chief executive Peter Sparkes said the charity was "responding to the changing nature of lifesaving at sea by adapting our service".

"As a charity, we must also be clear that we are spending our donors' money wisely in the right areas and where it will have the most impact," he said.

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