The final Arun-class lifeboat will be withdrawn from service on Sunday
The Arun class lifeboat based at Calshot lifeboat station will be withdrawn from service on Sunday 4 February after 22 years of service in the RNLI fleet.
The station has the last in-service Arun in the RNLI’s fleet. This is to be replaced by a Tyne class lifeboat, ON 1155, named theSarah Emily Harrop, which was built in 1989, and became Lytham St Anne’s lifeboat. More recently the lifeboat has served in the relief fleet.
RNLI Deputy Divisional Inspector Richard Weeks said: “This last Arun marks the passing of an era. They have served the RNLI extremely well and provided us with years of dependable service. When first introduced the Arun class was at the forefront of lifeboat design.”
The Arun class lifeboats introduced in 1971 have carried out 15,081 launches and rescued over 13,545 people. In 1982 the Arun class received a Design Council Award for ‘the excellence of the design’.
