Responding to incidents

St Helier Lifeboat

There are 3 RNLI lifeboats available locally that the Jersey Coastguard can call upon at any time to respond to incidents.

Inshore lifeboats

The RNLI lifeboats on the island are the St Catherine inshore lifeboat, which is an Atlantic 75 (with 3 crew), and the St Helier inshore lifeboat (an Atlantic 85 with 4 crew).

The Atlantic 75 was introduced in 1993. The Atlantic 85 was introduced in the latter half of 2005 as the latest development of the B class. They have a manually operated self-righting mechanism and are capable of being beached in an emergency without sustaining damage to engines or steering gear.

The Atlantic 85 is fitted with radar and VHF direction finding equipment and can be operated safely in daylight in a force 6/7 and at night in a force 5/6.

All weather lifeboat

The St Helier Lifeboat station also has an all weather lifeboat, which is a Tamar class lifeboat.

The Tamar is the RNLI's latest design which will gradually replace the Tyne class. It is bigger and faster than the Tyne and can be launched from a slipway or lie afloat.

The Tamar includes the computerised systems and information management system (SIMS) that enables crew to control many of the lifeboat's functions remotely from the safety of their seats.

Other features include advanced ergonomics that reduce the impact on the crew as the lifeboat crashes through waves, and a powered Y boat stored behind a transom door for immediate deployment. The Tamar requires 7 crew members to launch.

Other search and rescue assets

‘D’ class inshore lifeboats

Jersey Fire and Rescue inshore craft ‘Alpha’ and ‘Bravo’ are ‘D’ class inshore lifeboats manned by duty personnel. They are available for search and rescue use at all times.

The craft are of all inflatable construction and are powered by petrol driven 40hp outboard engines. They are capable of being manually righted by the crew after capsize, and the engine is fitted with a post immersion restart system (PIRS).

States tug ‘Duke of Normandy’

The States tug ‘Duke of Normandy’ is a 26 metre multi-role vessel capable of:

towing
mooring
pushing
buoy handling
fire fighting
oil recovery
dredging

It is berthed with the pilot cutters ‘Rival’ and ‘Le Fret’ alongside the Albert Pier and is available for use at a maximum of 1 hours notice.

Due to the capacity of the vessel, the ‘Duke of Normandy’ is often chosen as transport for the States Fire and Rescue MIRG team in the event of a medical emergency or fire on board a ship within territorial waters.

States Fisheries Protection Vessel

The States Fisheries Protection Vessel ‘Norman Le Brocq’ is a 15 metre multi-purpose craft. It is capable of operating as either a patrol vessel or as a platform for fisheries research.

The vessel is a valuable marine asset to the Island, and whilst its core role of fisheries management must take a high priority, it is available to Jersey Coastguard for limited use of an emergency asset.

Whilst at sea, the vessel is always available to assist in any serious maritime emergencies. Norman Le Brocq is berthed at La Collette with the main fishing fleet.

Channel Islands Air Search

Channel Islands Air Search ‘Lions Pride’ is a charity organisation with a volunteer crew operating an Islander rescue aircraft based at Guernsey airport.

The aircraft is available at all times and is typically airborne within 35 minutes of Jersey Coastguard requesting their assistance.

The Lions Pride has endurance in excess of 3.5 hours. Its equipment includes: