Kilkeel RNLI preparing for arrival of new state of the art Shannon class lifeboat

A delegation from Kilkeel Lifeboat Station, headed by Lifeboat Operations Manager John Fisher, will shortly be travelling to the RNLI’s All Weather lifeboat centre in Poole, to take part in the traditional bell ringing ceremony for their new Shannon class lifeboat.

The All-Weather lifeboat is due to go on service at the county Down station at the end of the year. It will be the first time the new lifeboat will have entered the water and will mark the beginning of a period of extensive sea trials before the lifeboat makes it journey to its new home at Kilkeel.

It’s a proud moment for Lifeboat Operations Manager John Fisher. With almost four decades of volunteering for the RNLI, John has witnessed some incredibly challenging callouts during his time at the helm of the station and is very proud of his team of committed and passionate volunteers. John said, ‘On Tuesday 22 July, a group of twelve of us from the station will be in Poole to ring the bell which marks a new Shannon lifeboat entering the fleet. There will be an intensive programme of training both at Poole and Kilkeel and we are looking forward to putting the new lifeboat on service here at the end of the year.’

‘I am extremely proud of the crew and their dedication to lifesaving in their community. They give up so much of their time to training and lifesaving and behind them are the families and employers who support their volunteer work. Not every launch makes headlines, but they are there, day in and day out.’

Following the bell ringing ceremony there will be a period of approximately two months intensive seagoing trials in Poole before the lifeboat will make its journey to its new home in Kilkeel.

The new Shannon class lifeboat comes following a recent Lifesaving Effect Review carried out by the RNLI into its search and rescue assets on the north-east coast of Northern Ireland which will see three new lifeboats put on service at Newcastle and Kilkeel stations by the end of the year. As well as Kilkeel’s Shannon lifeboat, volunteer lifeboat crews in Newcastle RNLI are set to welcome a new Atlantic 85 lifeboat and D-class lifeboat. These lifesaving assets represent a new era of lifesaving on the north-east coast.