Royal National Lifeboat Institution
The Royal National Lifeboat Institution ( RNLI ) is a British sea rescue organization. As a non-profit volunteer organization, the RNLI operates over 400 lifeboats, which had more than 9,000 missions in 2009. The RNLI operates on the coasts of Great Britain and Ireland and some inland waters in the United Kingdom and Jersey.
British Sea Rescue Development
At the beginning of the 19th century there was still no central organization of the sea rescue service in Great Britain, but there were lifeboats stationed irregularly on the coast with in some cases inadequate equipment.
As a result of an appeal by Sir William Hillary on the Isle of Man in 1823, the National Institution for the Preservation of Life from Shipwreck (NIPLS) was founded on March 4, 1824 (German: "National Institution for the Support of Life in Shipwreck").
Although this society was quite successful (6716 rescued between 1824 and 1849), local sea rescue organizations continued to exist. Around 1850 about 61 boats were stationed on the English coasts, 12 of which belonged to the Society and 49 to private associations and foundations.
After a disaster on December 4, 1849, in which 20 pilots died during a rescue mission, a large part of the British population supported the idea of rescue at sea, and a reform of the rescue service came about. The Duke of Northumberland announced a prize of 100 guineas for the best lifeboat design. This award was won by James Beeching of Great Yarmouth for a self-righting boat which the Port Authority in Ramsgate bought and stationed for £ 210. It was baptized Northumberland . This type replaced the boats from Gateshead from South Shields . After two years, the Northumberland type boat was rebuilt, given an iron keel to avoid damage to the bottom, and solid ballast instead of water ballast tanks.
From the NIPLS and the Shipwrecked Fishermen And Mariners' Benevolent Society founded in 1839, the RNLI, which still exists today, emerged in 1854 .
In the same year, the RNLI inspector Captain Ward developed the cork vest , which was standard equipment for rescue teams in Great Britain and other countries for many years.
In Stromness on Orkney , the Saltaire was stationed in 1867 as the new organization's first lifeboat.
The RNLI celebrated its centenary in 1924 with the first International Lifeboat Conference . There, those present from Denmark , France , Japan , the Netherlands , Norway , Spain , Sweden and the USA decided to found the International Lifeboat Federation (ILF). This alliance of sea rescue services initially had its secretariat at the RNLI. The RNLI is still one of 68 full members of the organization, which was renamed the International Maritime Rescue Federation in 2007 .
On March 17, 1969, the Royal National Lifeboat Institution (RNLI) lost its TGB sea rescue boat during a mission in a hurricane. It was probably hit by a 30 meter high freak wave and capsized. All eight crew members died in this accident. The accident was the reason for significant structural improvements in the RNLI's lifeboats.
organization
Like the German or Dutch sea rescue organizations, the RNLI is financed through donations and contributions from the public.
Unlike in Germany, where the DGzRS is solely responsible for organizing the sea rescue service, the RNLI is subordinate to the British Ministry of Transport. The Department has set up what is known as the United Kingdom Search and Rescue Committee, which includes staff from various organizations who may be involved in sea rescue, such as: B. the Red Cross, Coast Guard, offshore industry, RNLI - are active.
In 2018, the RNLI maintained around 350 boats and ships of 11 different classes as well as 4 hovercraft at a total of 238 stations. In addition, around 100 reserve boats and several reserve hovercraft were available. The fleet includes units from 5 to 17 meters.
The RNLI is now also responsible for rescues from inland waters and on beaches. Around 4800 crew members (mostly volunteers) go out with the lifeboats when someone is in need. The RNLI specifies the costs of their organization as 500,700 euros per day.
Since it was founded until 2006, over 144,000 shipwrecked people have been rescued.
See also
Web links
- Official homepage of the RNLI
- Early documents and newspaper articles on the Royal National Lifeboat Institution in the 20th Century press kit of the ZBW - Leibniz Information Center for Economics .
Individual evidence
- ↑ RNLI annual report 2009 ( page no longer available , search in web archives ) Info: The link was automatically marked as defective. Please check the link according to the instructions and then remove this notice.
- ↑ Richard Larn: Goowin Sands Shipwrecks. Dacid & Charles, Newton Abit / London 1977, p. 89.
- ↑ R. Larn 1977, p. 89.
- ^ Royal National Lifeboat Institution , International Life Saving Federation website, accessed July 4, 2018.
- ^ History of the International Maritime Rescue Federation. Retrieved July 4, 2018.
- ↑ Full Members ( Memento of the original from July 3, 2018 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The archive link was inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. , www.international-maritime-rescue.org, accessed July 3, 2018.
