New Brighton RNLI Lifeboat Station reopens
New Brighton RNLI Lifeboat Station is back in service following a temporary two-week closure.
The lifeboat station reopened on Monday 8 August and since then, the volunteer crew have taken part in several training exercises and have been paged four times by the Coastguard.
Two calls were resolved without launching the lifeboat but one involved towing a vessel to Liverpool Marina and another was a difficult service to recover a body on Tuesday 16 August.
Dave Page, RNLI Lifesaving Delivery Manager, said: ‘Closing a lifeboat station, even for a short period, is never easy. However, we are confident it was the right thing to do and will pay dividends in the long term.
‘The New Brighton volunteers have spent many hours training over the past ten days and I’m grateful to them for dedicating so much time to getting the lifeboat station back on track. We currently have an RNLI trainer working at the station who is also acting as a helm. Eleven crew – some very experienced – are available to go to sea and have expressed their commitment to providing a first class service. Several new volunteers have also come forward recently to join the crew.
‘Tuesday’s service was a challenging one and I commend the crew who took part for the professional way they dealt with it, working alongside RNLI lifeguards and colleagues from the other emergency services to do their very best in what were clearly tragic circumstances.’
While the station’s Atlantic 85 inshore lifeboat is now operational, the rescue hovercraft has been temporarily moved to Hoylake, 5 nautical miles away. It will continue to cover the region following an intensive training period for the Hoylake crew, who also operate a 25 knot Shannon class all-weather lifeboat.
The hovercraft will take just 12 minutes to reach New Brighton. However, it can cover anywhere on the Wirral and so in some instances will reach incidents faster from Hoylake than New Brighton. The area also continues to be served by the Mersey Marine Fire 1.
New Brighton Lifeboat Station closed temporarily following a long dispute which resulted in several crew members resigning. Others were stood down after refusing to sign up to the RNLI’s Volunteer Commitment and Code of Conduct.
The RNLI is now providing enhanced training and support for the New Brighton crew and aims to create a more inclusive and positive environment for all volunteers at the lifeboat station.
RNLI media contact
For more information contact Alison Levett, RNLI PR Manager, North, 07786 668912.
Notes to editors
News release about the temporary closure of New Brighton Lifeboat Station available here: http://bit.ly/2bzgvOw
Key facts about the RNLI
The RNLI charity saves lives at sea. Its volunteers provide a 24-hour search and rescue service around the United Kingdom and Republic of Ireland coasts. The RNLI operates 238 lifeboat stations in the UK and Ireland and more than 240 lifeguard units on beaches around the UK and Channel Islands. The RNLI is independent of Coastguard and government and depends on voluntary donations and legacies to maintain its rescue service. Since the RNLI was founded in 1824, its lifeboat crews and lifeguards have saved over 146,000 lives.
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