2040 Lifeboat Fleet Strategy

The evidence is clear, the demand for our service is increasing and the nature of our lifesaving work changing, so we must evolve our service to ensure we have the right lifeboats in the right places to save the greatest number of lives and to keep our people safe. 

Our data shows:  

• 98% of coastal services are less than 10 nautical miles offshore  
• 1.8% are between 10 and 25 nautical miles offshore  
• And just 0.2% of incidents are more than 25 nautical miles offshore  

Using our own data, insights and specialist knowledge, coupled with industry expertise, we have carefully considered what capabilities are needed from our fleet. 

As sea use around the UK and Ireland changes, more people are using the coast for recreational purposes such as open water swimming and paddleboarding, the vast majority of recues are closer to shore compared to years ago when demand was to commercial fishermen further offshore.  

This has allowed us to explore our options when it comes to the make-up of our lifeboat fleet. We need to ensure there is all-weather lifeboat cover for our inshore lifeboats so that we can rescue the rescuer. We need to provide large tow capability at locations where there is a known historic risk. And we need to ensure there is all-weather lifeboat coverage out to 75 nautical miles - from the vast majority of the UK and Ireland coastline.  

The strategy will modernise our fleet through the gradual exit of the Mersey, Trent and Severn class lifeboats. As you’ll have heard in previous updates, we will bring in a new inshore rescue hovercraft next year, and a new Atlantic 85 Mk4 in 2027. We will introduce a brand-new coastal lifeboat class by 2028. 

Alongside all this will be the delivery of a new concept of training for lifeboat crew. We will also be future-proofing the fleet by improving user experience and enhancing our lifesaving effect through improved connectivity and interoperability.  

The principle behind it all is the need for a lifeboat fleet that meets the demands for our services. We must match the class of lifeboat to the risk profile of each of our lifeboat stations. We need to have confidence that the decisions we make now set us on a sustainable path, that keeps pace with technology and the changing nature of our lifesaving work. 

Let’s not forget that this is what we have always done. Over the RNLI’s two hundred years of saving lives, there have been 42 different classes of lifeboat. We will always evolve and adapt our services to the needs of the communities we serve.  

Thank you for everything you do to answer the call for help and I appreciate your patience and support, as we work together to evolve the fleet to save lives for many years to come. 

Lifeboat changes in 2026 and 2027 

Lifeboat changes for 2026 and 2027 have been outlined in the strategy and those lifeboat stations impacted informed. Eighteen lifeboat stations out of the 237 which operate around the UK and Ireland are directly impacted in the first two years. The majority are moving from one class of all-weather lifeboat to another, with the exception of Hastings, Ilfracombe and Lytham St Annes lifeboat stations which will move from a Shannon to an Atlantic 85 inshore lifeboat.  

Lifeboat changes in 2026

• Larne Lifeboat Station: Trent class to a Shannon class  
• Fenit Lifeboat Station: Trent class to a Shannon class  
• Ballycotton Lifeboat Station: Trent class to a Shannon class  
• Fraserburgh Lifeboat Station: Trent class to a Tamar class  
• Wick Lifeboat Station: Trent class to a Shannon class  
• Portree Lifeboat Station: Trent class to a Shannon class  
• Ilfracombe Lifeboat Station: Shannon class to Atlantic 85 Mk3  
• Appledore Lifeboat Station: Tamar class to a Shannon class  
• Ramsgate Lifeboat Station: Tamar class to a Severn Mk3 
• Tynemouth Lifeboat Station: Severn class to a Tamar class  

Lifeboat changes in 2027  

• Howth Lifeboat Station: Trent class to a Shannon class  
• Barra Lifeboat Station: Severn class to a Tamar class  
• Buckie Lifeboat Station: Severn class to a Shannon class  
• Salcombe Lifeboat Station: Tamar class to a Shannon class  
• Alderney Lifeboat Station: Trent class to a Shannon class  
• St Peter Port Lifeboat Station: Severn class to a Shannon class  
• Hastings Lifeboat Station: Shannon class to an Atlantic 85 Mk4  
• Lytham St Annes Lifeboat Station: Shannon class to Atlantic 85 Mk4