Crew helping to develop craft described as 'the future of lifeboating'
For years the crew of Douglas RNLI have been based in shipping containers in a yard on Battery Pier.
It sits across from the former station and its slipway, which hasn't been used since 2018. The lifeboat now launches from the liner berth within the harbour.
Plans for a more permanent premises have been in discussion for years, and this week it was announced that plans have been submitted for a new temporary base within the Manx Marine building on The Tongue.
If approved, the new base, next to the Coastguard station, would be leased by the Department of Infrastructure to the RNLI for seven years, with a review option after four.
Allen Corlett, a Lifeboat Operations Manager on the Island, says the current berthing set up for the lifeboat is a problem which will need to be tackled down the line.
But, for now, Mr Corlett told Manx Radio that a more permanent and better equipped base is the answer to some of the Douglas crews' prayers:
"The future of lifeboating"
Meanwhile, the crew at Douglas is also involved in the design of a new coastal RNLI craft, described as the future of lifeboating.
Mr Corlett is on the design team and told Manx Radio: "We have been told that we will be getting one of the new coastal lifeboats here in Douglas. I'm privileged to be part of the team actually developing that.
"It'll be an off-the-shelf hull for an existing manufacturer. It'll be a boat that's capable of rescuing 10 miles offshore in extreme weather conditions.
"It will carry a crew of four, be powered with twin engines, capable of 35 knots. So this will be, in many respects, the future of lifeboating in the RNLI.
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