New lifeboat for Portree station to arrive in 2026
The current lifeboat has been based at Portree for almost 30 years.
- Published
An RNLI station in Skye is to get a new lifeboat next year.
The crew at Portree will take delivery of a new Shannon class vessel, which the RNLI said would offer improved manoeuvrability and speed.
The station's current Trent class lifeboat first arrived at the base in 1996, but will now be replaced after almost three decades of active service.
Douglas MacDougall, Portree RNLI's lifeboat operation manager, described it an exciting new chapter for the station, which was first established in 1991.
Coxswain Stuart Nicolson said the current lifeboat would hold "a special place at Portree RNLI."
The new Shannon class lifeboat is still to named and is being delivered as part of the RNLI 2040 lifeboat fleet strategy.
The class is the smallest and lightest form of all-weather lifeboat, and is designed and built entirely in-house by the RNLI.
It is propelled by water jets rather than propellers and can reach a top speed of 25 knots.
Other stations to receive upgrades next year include Fraserburgh and Wick, with Barra and Buckie due new vessels in 2027.
The current Trent class lifeboat at Portree, the Stanley Watson Barker next to its predecessor, the Waveney-class Ralph and Joy Swann, in 1996.