Almost a third of all people saved by lifeboat crews in the UK and Ireland last year were rescued from the Channel as they tried to cross in dinghies and other small vessels, the RNLI has revealed.
Publishing the figures for the first time, the Royal National Lifeboat Institution said its volunteers saved the lives of 108 men, women and children who were crossing in small boats.
Its crews, mainly based in Dover and Dungeness in Kent, launched 290 times to people making the voyage across one of the world’s busiest shipping lanes – most often in small, overcrowded and unseaworthy boats.
The charity has been criticised by some for facilitating the arrival of refugees into the UK but said it was unashamed and unapologetic for doing the work it was created for almost 200 years ago – saving lives at sea.
It also revealed that it has been developing new mass “rescue” equipment to help save large groups from the water and was about to start using a piece of kit in the Channel called a “sea staircase” that can get 20 people out in about 90 seconds.
The RNLI showcased the inflatable staircase on Tuesday to a select audience including the Guardian off the coast of Dorset where it has been carrying out trials before adding it to its lifeboats in the south-east Channel within the next few weeks.
Announcing the statistics on rescues of people from small boats, the RNLI chief executive, Mark Dowie, said: “We have never released these figures before but they illustrate clearly our charity’s work in the Channel is genuinely lifesaving.”
The RNLI’s lifeboats and lifeguards saved 506 lives last year. Of these, 389 were rescued by lifeboat crews. Its launches to small boats in the Channel equated to 3% of its total for the whole year from its 238 stations around the UK and Ireland.
Dowie added: “The RNLI is unashamed and makes no apology for staying committed to and focused on the purpose we were created for, nearly 200 years ago – to save lives at sea.”
During the exercise a mile and half off Old Harry’s Rocks, RNLI crews used two piece of new kit to rescue a group of lifeguards who played the part of refugees whose boat had sank.
The head of lifeboats, Simon Ling, explained that the first priority was to do everything they could to make sure those in the water did not drown. This was achieved by throwing light packs containing “horseshoe” life rings that inflate when they hit the water. Lifeboats in the Channel have already started carrying these so they can quickly help dozens of people stay afloat. “This buys you time,” said Ling.
The second bit of kit being highlighted – the staircase – has been developed to make it easier to get lots of people out of the water quickly. Two crew members can hunker down on the foot of the staircase at water level, making it much easier to haul people out.
Crews have been testing the staircase close to the RNLI’s headquarters in Poole as part of mass casualty exercises – the first time it has ever used live “casualties” in practice.
“We have simulated different mass rescue scenarios and the sea stairs enable our crews to recover large numbers of people from the water at high speed – which in a rescue situation could be the difference between life and death,” said Ling. “Crews have said this is a gamechanger.”
A third piece of kit is a large ring that has been adapted from an aircraft life raft. By removing the floor, the RNLI has found many more people can hang on to it as they await rescue.
Ling said the RNLI did not get involved in the politics of small boats crossings. “The RNLI is an apolitical organisation,” he said. “We exist to save lives at sea and we’ve been doing that for nearly 200 years now.”
The RNLI is tasked by the coastguard to carry out rescues. If someone is in trouble in the sea, the charity will help them without judgment.
“For us it’s relatively easy, this is around being tasked by HM coastguard, [our work is] men and women getting up in the middle of the night and responding to people in distress. It’s the most noble of human endeavours and we’re all very proud of our volunteers.”
Taking part in the exercise off Dorset was the The Murrell, a Shannon class vessel based at Dungeness, which can fit up to 43 survivors on its deck and run casualties right on to the beach.
Dungeness volunteers were among those involved in a rescue on 14 December when four people lost their lives but dozens were saved.
Its coxswain, Stuart Adams, said he joined the RNLI to help people and save lives. “That is my passion,” he said.
He recalled a night when, in a torrential thunderstorm, his crew was called out to a dinghy that seemed about to sink. “Once we managed to get everybody on board, a young lady started to scream. She was missing her child. For a moment we thought: ‘Have we lost a child?’ Thankfully soon after the child was found on board. The scream stayed with me for days.
“Whatever the circumstances, whatever the nationalities, it doesn’t matter to me, we are there to save lives and that’s what we do.”
