"My one and only priority is to get a lifeboat back in St Helier"

Tuesday 28 November 2017

Recruitment for a new St Helier lifeboat crew officially begins today - which also sees the first public meeting organised by the group wanting to set up their own operation amid recriminations over their alleged treatment. So far 25 islanders have come forward interested in crewing a fresh RNLI service.

In the States yesterday afternoon, allegations that ministers in Jersey have supported the RNLI, and not the former St Helier lifeboat crew, were firmly rebutted by Deputy Steve Luce, who is taking the lead on dealing with the current dispute for the Council of Ministers.

Speaking in the States Assembly yesterday, Deputy Luce refused to take sides in the row between the UK charity and the local crew, assuring his fellow politicians that help had been offered to both sides. He said his "one and only" priority was to get a "properly accredited lifeboat" back in St Helier as soon as possible.

His comments came during an exchange which included a bizarre offer from St Saviour Deputy Kevin Lewis, who made Deputy Luce promise to tell the RNLI he would be prepared to sleep on board the all-weather lifeboat, the George Sullivan, in the harbour, if that's what was needed for the charity to bring it back from Poole, so they didn't have to be concerned about security. Deputy Luce said he would pass on the message. 

The row came to head for a second time this year when the crew announced they wanted to cut ties with the charity. The RNLI subsequently stood the crew down, closed the St Helier lifeboat station and took the all-weather lifeboat back to the UK for servicing.

Last Thursday, the charity announced that they were about to start recruiting volunteers. The volunteers, who include members of the Fire Service, started training over the weekend.

Training today with the Fire Service and new recruits. pic.twitter.com/XUHlWjYWcX

— RNLI Jersey (@RNLIJersey) November 26, 2017

Deputy Kevin Lewis asked Deputy Luce about the steps taken, "...to ensure the reinstatement of an all-weather lifeboat service."

Deputy Luce assured the States that ministers are backing "...anybody who is able to come forward in the quickest possible moment with a lifeboat with a trained crew, with the right kits, certifications, coding and licenses, everything that is required by the Harbourmaster.

"What we are trying to do here in the quickest possible time is to get a lifeboat back in St Helier. There are two lifeboats an inshore lifeboat and an all weather lifeboat. We want those boats back in St Helier from wherever direction, crewed by whoever, as long as they are proper lifeboats with properly trained crew with the proper equipment. And the quickest somebody comes forward with those, the happier I am."

Pictured: Deputy Luce wants an all-weather lifeboat back in St Helier sooner rather than later but does not mind where it comes from.

He said he had met both parties and offered support "...to do whatever is necessary to get a lifeboat back in St Helier just as fast as we can. My one and only priority is not to look back and take sides, my one and only priority is to get a lifeboat back in St Helier for the benefit of our maritime community."

When asked by Deputy Montfort Tadier if he had the support of the former St Helier crew, the Minister for the Environment replied: "My proposal is to get a lifeboat back in St Helier as soon as possible.  I expect that if that includes the RNLI, the ex-crew will not be supportive. They are very keen and have expressed their desire to have an independent lifeboat but that as I said before and I will say it again, I don’t mind where this lifeboat comes from. Anybody that wants to come forward  with a lifeboat, that is properly coded, with a properly trained crew, with the right equipment, they can be declared to the coastguard to save lives and they will be supported."

Deputy Luce however noted that the former St Helier crew has been warned that the task of setting up an independent station is "massively technically difficult" by the Harbourmaster, Captain Bill Sadler.  Deputy Luce said: "While we would support them in every way we can and we offered help and other technical assistance, that they must realize this is a huge undertaking to try to start an independent lifeboat especially so if they do not go for a new vessel but for a second-hand vessel which is quite old. The coding, the surveying work and the technicalities in getting that vessel up to speed and up to the specifications will be huge."

Deputy Kevin Lewis also suggested it wasn't too late to get everyone around the table and "sort this out." Deputy Luce, who described the situation as "very sad and difficult," said that this was not the first time it happened, referring to the time the crew went out following the dismissal of their coxswain Andy Hibbs. "Once again we find ourselves where we are not aligned," he noted, assuring that his department had been working for many months to improve the relationship between both parties.

Pictured: Relationships between the St Helier crew and the RNLI had been strained since April, when the charity sacked Andy Hibbs, the coxswain, over alleged breaches of its code of conduct.

He later added: "This had got to the point where we had to stop and start again. We had to draw a line in the sand and say that things had to change in the future and that we couldn’t continue. We could not have continued in the way that we had been going and the institution took that extremely difficult decision."

His remarks came less than 24 hours before the process to recruit a new crew for the St Helier station officially begins today. 

RNLI Area Lifesaving Manager Liam Krige is in the island to launch the campaign to find 20 to 30 willing volunteers to man the town-based station.

So far, he said that 25 people had expressed interest in the role.

Pictured: The RNLI's Lifesaving Manager is on the island today to launch their recruitment campaign for new St Helier volunteers. They'll be holding open days at the station next week.

"That, added to the existing RNLI Jersey volunteers that we’re already training, is fantastic.  I’m grateful to all those who’ve come forward and to the community for supporting them," he commented.

The RNLI will be holding open days at the St Helier Lifeboat Station next Friday and Saturday to teach prospective volunteers more about what to expect from a volunteer role.

The first public meeting for the disaffected crew take place tonight at the Town Hall at 19:00.