Aith to receive new lifeboat in 2029
THE AITH lifeboat is set to be replaced in 2029 as the RNLI reviews and modernises its fleet.
The station – the UK’s most northerly – will receive a replacement Severn class lifeboat which the RNLI says will have already benefited from its improvement programme.
The replacement will come instead of a planned refit in 2029.
Across the UK the RNLI said it needs to evolve to meet a changing demand.
It said data shows that the majority of incidents the charity’s lifeboats respond to are now within the operational capabilities of an inshore lifeboat.
The charity highlighted the growing number of call-outs to people who start out from the beach and use the coast for recreational purposes, such as open water swimming, kayaking and paddleboarding.
As a result the RNLI has created a new lifeboat fleet strategy in response to the “changing nature of lifesaving.”
Shetland is perhaps an outlier, with many call-outs taking place to vessels in distress miles off the coast.
Aith is set to welcome a new Severn class boat in 2029, which is the same type the station has at the moment. It is also the type of lifeboat which serves the Lerwick station.
The RNLI said as an all-weather lifeboat, the Severn can “take on the worst sea conditions and comes into her own on long offshore searches and rescues”.
An RNLI spokesperson said: “As part of the RNLI’s 2040 Fleet Strategy, the charity will gradually phase out its ageing fleet of Severn class lifeboats by 2040.
“The Severn class lifeboat currently based at Aith was due to undergo a planned refit in 2029.
“Instead, the station will receive a replacement Severn class lifeboat that has already benefited from the RNLI’s improvement programme.”
The RNLI said that when deciding which lifeboats to place at a station, it also considers the “capabilities across flanking stations and other search and rescue services to ensure coverage and meet the lifesaving demand”.
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RNLI chief executive Peter Sparkes said: “The RNLI has constantly evolved and improved our service over 202 years.
“We make evidence-based decisions and strive to ensure that we have the right lifeboats in the right places, at the right time to save as many lives as possible around the coast of the UK and Ireland and, crucially, to enable us to bring our selfless, dedicated people home safely.”
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