Port St Mary Station will continue to play key role

The Trent Class lifeboat will be retired in 2028

Port St Mary will continue to operate a D-class lifeboat and play a key role in saving lives at sea when its Trent-class vessel is withdrawn from service.

The Trent is due to be phased out by the end of 2028, as it reaches the end of its operational life.

The RNLI does not plan to replace it with another all-weather lifeboat at the station.

Sam Holliday, the RNLI’s Head of Region for Wales, the West and the Isle of Man, said the decision followed an assessment of the types of rescues carried out from Port St Mary and the capabilities of lifeboats across the Island.

“The D-class at Port St Mary provides sufficient life-saving effect in that location,” he said. 

The RNLI’s assessment is that the D-class can respond to around 67 percent of Port St Mary’s current callouts, with a further 22 percent covered by B-class lifeboats.

Longer-range support will be available from Shannon-class lifeboats at Peel and Ramsey.

The RNLI says it will work with HM Coastguard to ensure it understands the capabilities of the Island’s lifeboats and can task them appropriately.

Mr Holliday said the changes were not a move to reduce or consolidate the service: “Fleet strategy really is about right boats in the right place with the right people, as opposed to any form of a financial consolidation across the fleet."

Mr Holliday added the RNLI believed the network of five stations on the Isle of Man would provide resilience after the Trent’s withdrawal and that Port St Mary would continue to play an important role in the island’s lifeboat provision.