The Shannon is the newest class of lifeboat developed by the RNLI. Since 2013 14 (out of a planned 50) have been built with ten serving at stations and four in reserve. With a crew of six, the 44ft 7in (13.6m) LOA boats have a maximum capacity for 79 survivors and a 250 nautical mile range with a top speed of 25 knots. Superb manoeuvrability is down to the waterjet system of propulsion from its twin 13-litre 650hp engines. Each Shannon costs £1.5m to build.
Like other modern lifeboats of the RNLI they are named after a river, but this is the first class to be named after an Irish river, the Shannon. When the south of Ireland became a free state in 1922 the RNLI volunteers continued to serve and man up to 59 boats from 45 stations, including those around the Northern Ireland coasts.
As an add on below is a short video of RNLI Hastings’ Shannon class powering into the teeth of Storm Ciara in February 2020.
