New £2.45m lifeboat welcomed with water salute

A new £2.45m lifeboat was welcomed by a water salute and dozens of spectators as it arrived at its new station.

Hartlepool RNLI volunteer crew were aboard the new all weather Shannon class lifeboat as it approached the Ferry Road station on Sunday following a four day passage from Poole in Dorset.

Chairman Malcolm Cooke said the "technology change" from their current Trent class lifeboat was "incredible", adding the new boat would "go to sea in any weather to assist anyone in trouble".

The boat, which will come into service in early 2025, was accompanied to its new base by lifeboats from Redcar and Sunderland stations and will be called John Sharp after the man who paid for it.

The funding for the new vessel came from a gift left to the Charities Aid Foundation by Mr Sharp, a mathematician and investor who died in 2019.

He had spent years researching his family history and found his ancestor commissioned one of Lionel Lukin's so-called unimmergible boats in 1786 which helped the North East community to be better equipped when trying to save sailors.

The new lifeboat will go into service early next year when training for crew members is completed.

Hartlepool RNLI coxswain Robbie Maiden said he was "excited" and thankful for the new boat which would endeavour to ensure the safety of "the seafarers and people in Hartlepool along the coast".

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