Mersey-class lifeboat


Mersey-class lifeboats are a class of All-weather lifeboats, originally operated by the Royal National Lifeboat Institution. Introduced in 1988, 38 of this class of lifeboat would come to operate from stations around the coasts of Great Britain and Ireland. They are capable of operating at up to and can be launched from a carriage or by slipway.
The class name comes from the River Mersey which flows into the Irish Sea in north west England.

History

During the 1960s and 1970s the RNLI introduced fast lifeboats capable of considerable greater speeds than the of existing designs. The first of these were only able to be kept afloat as their propellers would be damaged if launched using a slipway or carriage. In 1982 the steel-hulled came into service, which could be launched down a slipway, but weighed 25 tons, and so was not suitable for being moved across a beach on a carriage. The answer was to build a smaller boat with an aluminium hull, which became the Mersey-class.
The first prototype Mersey was built in 1986, but was never named or given an operational number. After trials during 1987 and 1988, the unnamed boat was never placed on station, and was sold in 1989. Two more boats were built in 1988, with the first one to take up active service going to Bridlington Lifeboat Station the following year.
In 1989, 12-11 Lifetime Care was built with a fibre-reinforced composite hull. Boats built in 1990 continued to use aluminium but from 1991 FRC became the standard hull material.
On Wednesday 13 December 2023, Her Royal Highness The Duchess of Edinburgh joined RNLI representatives at Windsor Castle for the handover of RNLB 12-30 Her Majesty The Queen to the Chatham Historic Dockyard for temporary display.
The RNLI intended to have 25 knot lifeboats at all offshore lifeboat stations by the end of 2019, and the first of the lifeboats replaced the Mersey lifeboats at Dungeness, Exmouth and Hoylake in 2014. It would be eleven years later, when the last Mersey-class lifeboat in RNLI service, 12-20 Leonard Kent, at, was formally withdrawn from service on 18 December 2025.
Four former RNLI Mersey-class boats are still in service overseas, three operated by ADES Uruguay, and one by Bote Salvavidas de Valparaiso in Chile.

Description

The Mersey is designed to be launched from a carriage, but can also lie afloat or be slipway launched when required. Its propellers are fully protected from damage when launching or in shallow water, by partial tunnels and two bilge keels. Its low height can be further reduced by collapsing its mast and aerials which then allows it to be stored in a boathouse. A sealed cabin gives it a self-righting ability.
Power comes from two 3208T Caterpillar turbo-charged marine diesel engines giving 285 hp at 2,800 rpm. It carries of fuel to give it a range of. It has a crew of six and can carry an inflatable X-boat which it can deploy at sea. Its survivor compartment can carry 43 people, but more than 21 prevents self-righting should the boat capsize.

RNLI fleet (retired)

Uruguay

ADES Uruguay is an Honorary Lifesaving Institution founded in 1955. Its volunteers train weekly to go to sea with the sole purpose of helping whoever requests help. The rescues have no cost to the beneficiaries. At the national level ADES Uruguay is part of the National Emergency Committee and at the international level it is part of the IMRF
RNLI ONNameStationMMSIComments
1173ADES 28 Grace Darling2021–Colonia del Sacramento232002240
11842021–Montevideo232002573
1186ADES 302021–Punta del Este232003202

Chile

Operated by Bote Salvavidas de Valparaiso, Chile
RNLI ONNameStationComments
11752018–ValparaisoImages of 12-28 in Chile are, still in near RNLI colours.