Lifeboat training set for Stromness

Vital experience using lifeboat and rescue equipment will soon be a reality in Stromness, thanks to funding secured by Orkney College UHI  for a lifeboat training rig.

The college’s maritime studies department has received funding from the Energy Skills Partnership and Orkney Islands Council’s Economic Development Grants Scheme to build the full-size rig – comprising two sets of davits and a fully-enclosed lifeboat – on the Northern Lighthouse Board Pier in Stromness.

The rig is currently being fabricated by Stonehaven-based Survival Craft and is expected to be in place early in the new year.

Mark Shiner, curriculum leader for the Maritime Studies Department at Orkney College UHI said: “The aim of this rig is to give seafarers experience using rescue equipment – in a real-life rescue situation at sea, every second counts, so it’s important that launching a lifeboat is second nature.”

He added: “Importantly, with this new equipment we’re now able to offer the PSCRB Lifeboat Training course, meaning the Nav School can now train seafarers from a standing start, right up to able seafarer level – an internationally recognised qualification. Everything we need is here. Previously for lifeboat training folk would have to travel at least as far south as Aberdeen – with all the extra costs and time that entails.”