New £2.2million lifeboat arrives for duty at Northumberland station

Seahouses has taken delivery of its new £2.2m Shannon-class lifeboat.
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The state-of-the-art vessel arrived at 1.36pm on Sunday – specially timed as her operational boat number is 1336.

The lifeboat has been funded by the generosity of a donor in Scotland. The lifeboat will be called John and Elizabeth Allan, after the donor’s parents.

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The Shannon class lifeboat is the first modern RNLI all-weather lifeboat to be powered by water jets and not propellers.

Seahouses has welcomed its new lifeboat.Seahouses has welcomed its new lifeboat.
Seahouses has welcomed its new lifeboat.

Capable of 25 knots the Shannon is 50% faster than the lifeboat it replaces.

Ian Clayton, RNLI volunteer lifeboat operations manager at Seahouses, said: “The arrival of our new Shannon Class lifeboat has been much anticipated and yesterday was a truly historic occasion.

"Our new lifesaving vessel has only been made a reality through the immense generosity of the donor whose parents the Shannon is named after and we really are very grateful.

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“Our volunteer crew can’t wait to start their new chapter of lifesaving with the Shannon and we’ve really enjoyed our recent training ahead of her arrival.

The new £2.2m Shannon-class lifeboat in Seahouses harbour.The new £2.2m Shannon-class lifeboat in Seahouses harbour.
The new £2.2m Shannon-class lifeboat in Seahouses harbour.

"The state-of-the-art vessel is 50% faster than our current all-weather lifeboat and this will ensure that those in need are reached even more quickly than before.

“Naturally we’ll really miss our current all-weather lifeboat Grace Darling, but we’re also excited about receiving our Shannon, whose advanced technology means we’ll be able to reach people a lot more quickly and further offshore.”

Although Seahouses RNLI is operational, the lifeboat station is closed to members of the public owing to Covid-19 restrictions and people are being asked not to travel to the station to see the new boat.

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Ian explained: “Due to Covid-19 restrictions we’re asking people not to travel to the area at this time to view our new lifeboat. Although the lifeboat station is fully operational, it remains closed to members of the public.

The new Shannon-class is launched.The new Shannon-class is launched.
The new Shannon-class is launched.

"The safety of our volunteer crew and the public is paramount but we can’t wait until we can invite people along to see her and we’re really looking forward to bringing out the bunting at a future date, to mark her arrival at a naming ceremony.”

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Capable of 25 knots the Shannon is 50% faster than the lifeboats it replaces.Capable of 25 knots the Shannon is 50% faster than the lifeboats it replaces.
Capable of 25 knots the Shannon is 50% faster than the lifeboats it replaces.

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