Calendar An icon of a desk calendar. Cancel An icon of a circle with a diagonal line across. Caret An icon of a block arrow pointing to the right. Email An icon of a paper envelope. Facebook An icon of the Facebook "f" mark. Google An icon of the Google "G" mark. Linked In An icon of the Linked In "in" mark. Logout An icon representing logout. Profile An icon that resembles human head and shoulders. Telephone An icon of a traditional telephone receiver. Tick An icon of a tick mark. Is Public An icon of a human eye and eyelashes. Is Not Public An icon of a human eye and eyelashes with a diagonal line through it. Pause Icon A two-lined pause icon for stopping interactions. Quote Mark A opening quote mark. Quote Mark A closing quote mark. Arrow An icon of an arrow. Folder An icon of a paper folder. Breaking An icon of an exclamation mark on a circular background. Camera An icon of a digital camera. Caret An icon of a caret arrow. Clock An icon of a clock face. Close An icon of the an X shape. Close Icon An icon used to represent where to interact to collapse or dismiss a component Comment An icon of a speech bubble. Comments An icon of a speech bubble, denoting user comments. Comments An icon of a speech bubble, denoting user comments. Ellipsis An icon of 3 horizontal dots. Envelope An icon of a paper envelope. Facebook An icon of a facebook f logo. Camera An icon of a digital camera. Home An icon of a house. Instagram An icon of the Instagram logo. LinkedIn An icon of the LinkedIn logo. Magnifying Glass An icon of a magnifying glass. Search Icon A magnifying glass icon that is used to represent the function of searching. Menu An icon of 3 horizontal lines. Hamburger Menu Icon An icon used to represent a collapsed menu. Next An icon of an arrow pointing to the right. Notice An explanation mark centred inside a circle. Previous An icon of an arrow pointing to the left. Rating An icon of a star. Tag An icon of a tag. Twitter An icon of the Twitter logo. Video Camera An icon of a video camera shape. Speech Bubble Icon A icon displaying a speech bubble WhatsApp An icon of the WhatsApp logo. Information An icon of an information logo. Plus A mathematical 'plus' symbol. Duration An icon indicating Time. Success Tick An icon of a green tick. Success Tick Timeout An icon of a greyed out success tick. Loading Spinner An icon of a loading spinner. Facebook Messenger An icon of the facebook messenger app logo. Facebook An icon of a facebook f logo. Facebook Messenger An icon of the Twitter app logo. LinkedIn An icon of the LinkedIn logo. WhatsApp Messenger An icon of the Whatsapp messenger app logo. Email An icon of an mail envelope. Copy link A decentered black square over a white square.

COURIER OPINION: Arbroath or Broughty Ferry lifeboat downgrade could cost lives

Photo shows two RNLI crewman from behind walking on the gangway to the Broughty Ferry RNLI station with the River Tay in the background.
Lifeboat volunteers at Broughty Ferry and Arbroath are among the busiest in the UK.

The lifeboat stations that guard the coastal waters of Angus, Dundee and Fife are a blessing for the communities that they serve.

Without the constant vigilance of the volunteer crews who man the stations, countless more lives would have been lost in the Tay and out over the bar into the cold expanse of the North Sea itself.

The Tay is Scotland’s biggest river.

And, as it opens up into the North Sea, the mouth of the estuary far exceeds a mile in diameter.

Photo shows the River Tay, looking across the road bridge to Dundee.
The River Tay is an enormous body of water by the time it reaches Dundee.

It is a body of water which can look incredibly serene and beautiful on the surface. But one which masks wicked and powerful currents that have the capacity to pull a person
under within seconds.

At its worst, the North Sea at Arbroath is an inhospitable and unforgiving place, capable of driving fear into the hearts of the most seasoned of sailors.

Against that backdrop, new plans revealed by this newspaper to remove one of the two all-weather lifeboats currently stationed at Arbroath and Broughty Ferry once they reach the end of their useful operational life are a major concern.

The plan is to replace the all-weather vessel when it is taken off service with an inflatable rib.

Photo shows an all-weather lifeboat in high seas.
The Arbroath RNLI lifeboat at sea.

While an impressive piece of kit, a rib simply does not have the same capability as the larger craft.

And that means one of the stations – which are regularly among Scotland’s busiest – will be compromised.

Arbroath and Broughty Ferry lifeboat crews put their lives on the line

Inevitably it is a numbers game, with a rib costing less than one-tenth of the £2 million
needed to fund a new all-weather boat.

In an organisation kept afloat by public fundraising and donations, the proposals make it clear money talks.

But what price is life?

Photo shows three Broughty Ferry lifeboat volunteers on an inflatable boat.
The Broughty Ferry RNLI team’s D Class ‘Oor Lifesaver’ lifeboat.

The crews who man our lifeboats put their own lives at risk in order to save others who find themselves in distress.

They deserve every protection in that fine work.

The RNLI needs to think very carefully before it acts here.

It must explore every avenue available to ensure the lifeboat stations at Arbroath and Broughty Ferry remain as operationally capable as they are today.

After all, lives depend on it.

Conversation