Inshore Lifeboat Centre closure: your questions answered

The RNLI has seen significant changes in how the coast is used across the UK and Ireland. Increasingly, people are taking part in recreational activities, such as open water swimming and paddleboarding, and the majority of rescues now take place closer to shore than in previous decades, when demand was more often further offshore.

As the charity enters its third century of saving lives at sea, it must continue to evolve to ensure the right lifeboats are available in the right locations. Future production demand is expected to reduce by around a third, due to how the RNLI is modernising its fleet to ensure it has the capabilities to meet the demand on its lifesaving service. The planned future reduction in production hours means there would not be enough work to sustain two manufacturing facilities.

There is an anticipated reduction of approximately 82,000 production hours in the coming years, making it necessary to reduce the organisation’s future footprint and cost base. It is essential to ensure the RNLI remains sustainable.

This is not an easy decision. The RNLI recognises the dedication and commitment of its Inshore Lifeboat Centre Team, their professionalism throughout this process, and the impact this decision will have not only on them but on the wider RNLI family on the Isle of Wight.

The Inshore Lifeboat Centre (ILC) has approximately 60 employees. All our colleagues at the ILC have an opportunity to contribute to the decision making, through individual and group consultations. Engagement and consultation with all our colleagues impacted by the changes will continue during the transition process, over the coming months and year.

The RNLI has seen significant changes in how the coast is used across the UK and Ireland. More people are now enjoying the coast through activities such as open water swimming and paddleboarding, and the vast majority of rescues today take place closer to shore than in previous years, when demand was much further offshore.

As the charity enters its third century of saving lives at sea, it must continue to evolve to ensure it is providing the right lifeboats in the right locations. Planned changes to the RNLI’s fleet which includes reducing the number of all-weather lifeboats, will lead to fewer production hours required to build, repair and refit vessels in the coming years. All-weather lifeboats are larger, more complex and have longer build times than the inshore fleet.

This is expected to result in an overall reduction of around 82,000 production hours, with demand falling by approximately a third. As a result, there would not be sufficient work to justify operating two manufacturing facilities.

Doing nothing is not an option. As a charity funded by public donations, the RNLI has a responsibility to reduce its future footprint and cost base, and to ensure it continues to make the best possible use of its supporters’ generosity while remaining sustainable for the future.

All options were considered before this decision was made, including closing the production facility at the Lifeboat Support Centre in Poole, Dorset. The Inshore Lifeboat Centre is estimated to require around £5 million in capital investment to remain compliant with building legislation and critical system testing. In contrast, Poole is a newer, larger facility with the ability to take on the wider manufacturing requirements of the RNLI future fleet. These factors have been carefully considered to ensure the RNLI makes the best possible use of its supporters’ donations.

Consolidating manufacturing into a single location will allow the RNLI to retain in house control over build quality while ensuring it can continue saving lives at sea for generations to come.

It is anticipated that the Inshore Lifeboat Centre will close by the end of 2027. Between now and then there is a detailed transition to support employees and ensure continuity of production. It will include the sequencing of how work will be transferred to the facility in Poole.

The RNLI will work closely with individuals impacted during the transition period to support them both day-to-day and in looking to the future.

The Inshore Lifeboat Centre in East Cowes opened in 1963. It currently builds and maintains up to 80 boats each year, including the RNLI’s B class and D class inflatable lifeboats, as well as lifeguards’ inshore rescue boats.

The RNLI’s production facility in Poole, built in 2015, brings every stage of the all-weather lifeboat build process under one roof. It builds the Shannon class lifeboat and also delivers refits and repairs to the charity’s all-weather lifeboat fleet, alongside other specialist engineering work.

We are working closely with everyone affected throughout the transition period, offering practical support day-to-day as well as help in planning next steps.

We have built a comprehensive transitional support plan that we have developed through formal consultation with the Inshore Lifeboat Centre employee forum, regular employee forum meetings, drop-in sessions, and one-to-one conversations. The plan provides a range of potential tailored options for our people, including voluntary redundancy opportunities, redeployment, relocation support, and career transition assistance. Importantly, we have also committed to guaranteed job opportunities in Poole for our production employees, demonstrating our determination to retain skills and experience within the RNLI, wherever possible. It also includes offering financial and transitionary support to relocate staff to our site in Poole with a specialist relocation assistance company.

We have committed to redundancy payments to all employees with less than 2 years’ service, which goes above statutory requirements, if that situation occurs. The Inshore Lifeboat Centre has a small team of apprentices, who we are in active conversation with to support the completion of their apprenticeships, either prior or after closure of the site. We are very passionate about supporting the completion of their apprenticeship. We are pleased to confirm that one apprentice has already chosen to relocate.

We have already run a number of welfare and support workshops around resilience and managing through change, CV masterclass workshop, with group and one-to-one sessions offered, as well as interview skills, recruitment workshops and new business start-up training. Support options will continue to be offered throughout the transition plan, with employees supported to influence what and when these are offered.

A number of employees have also been supported with additional training and development to improve skills and experience in a chosen career development pathway. Both distance and face-to-face learning are being supported. This is complemented by individual career coaching opportunities from our internal professional colleagues. We expect to develop this further, with work shadowing and mentoring to complement training and qualification achievements.

We will also work with other employers in the production sector and support organisations on the Isle of Wight to help identify external opportunities and provide additional support.

The RNLI recognises the dedication and commitment of its Inshore Lifeboat Centre Team, their professionalism throughout this process, and the impact this decision will have not only on them but on the wider RNLI family on the Isle of Wight.

Unite is representing Inshore Lifeboat Centre employees, with the exception of some of the management team through an agreed recognition agreement. The charity continues to make every effort to engage with them and support our staff throughout this period of change.

While we are disappointed that industrial action is being pursued, we fully respect the right of employees and trade unions to take part in lawful industrial action. Throughout this process, our focus has remained firmly on supporting our people, listening to their concerns and maintaining constructive engagement with employee representatives and Unite.

The reason for this industrial action is that Unite are not satisfied with the RNLI’s enhanced redundancy entitlements for employees. We are mindful that we are a charity and must always consider this when spending donors' money. The enhanced package we have offered goes above statutory requirement and compares positively across the charity sector.

The Inshore Lifeboat Centre (ILC) currently has 60 employees, with half of the ILC Team supporting industrial action in the form of strike action – approximately 30 employees.

No. The RNLI have committed to provide financial support with relocation costs and this was confirmed at the start of consultation in January 2026. This will be via an individual assessment to understand their needs and requirements to assist with a move closer to Poole. The assessments will be supported by a specialist relocation company, and they will be offered taster and trial sessions to support their decision making with any redeployment offer made.

We are currently in discussion with a number of employees who have expressed interest in redeployment and/or relocation, and forms a key phase in the transition plan as these discussions and support options are considered and discussed.

Although discussions facilitated by the Advisory, Conciliation and Arbitration Service (ACAS) did not result in agreement, the RNLI has made considerable efforts to support our colleagues and engage with Unite. We remain committed to constructive dialogue and will continue engaging with Unite and employee representatives. Our priority is to ensure employees have access to clear information, meaningful engagement and practical support throughout the transition.

We continue to listen carefully to feedback and remain open to discussions that help support our colleagues during this period of change.

The RNLI intends to transition inshore lifeboat production from the Inshore Lifeboat Centre to the production facility at the Lifeboat Support Centre in Poole by the end of 2027. As with any change of this scale, it will require detailed planning and consultation to ensure the RNLI continues to deliver safe, reliable lifeboats and maintain the high standards our crews and supporters expect.

The Lifeboat Support Centre in Poole has the facilities and capacity to support the future production of inshore lifeboats, creating opportunities to bring lifeboat manufacturing together on a single site. The RNLI will continue to review how best to deliver build, maintenance and repair activities to meet operational needs and ensure it spends donors’ money wisely.

The RNLI's intention is to sell the Inshore Lifeboat Centre site and reinvest the proceeds into its core purpose of saving lives at sea.

We hope to sell the site to an organisation that will continue to use it for manufacturing or similar industrial purposes. This could help create opportunities for the re-employment of our highly skilled and dedicated Inshore Lifeboat Centre colleagues and support the local economy.

As plans progress, we will continue to engage with our people and other stakeholders, and provide updates as appropriate.