New sea rescue vessel for Durban
The craft is named after Alexander John Rennie known as Alick or AJ.
MORE than 200 donors, supporters, affiliated emergency services and National Sea Rescue Institute (NSRI) crew met at Station 5 Durban to bless the new sea rescue vessel the Rescue 5 Alick Rennie on Friday.
NSRI Station 5 Durban Station Commander Andre Fletcher welcomed guests while Mark Hughes, the Operations Director, shared details around the ORC project.
“The ORC 140, was designed by Pantocarene Naval architects who came up with the idea for this type of vessel that would operate in rough sea conditions some 20 years ago. Over the years the design has been improved to produce the current ORC 140 for the NSRI. The Alick Rennie is an exceptional Search and Rescue (SAR) vessel that will meet NSRI’s operational needs for the next 40 years. That is her intended operational life span,” said Hughes.
The Sea Rescue craft is named after Alexander John Rennie known as Alick or AJ, whose business connection to Durban started with getting the mail contract between Cape Town and Durban from 1857-1862.
They went on to run Passenger Clippers from Durban to United Kingdom from 1858-1912. Ships were sold in 1912 and Rennie’s became a shipping agency and popular travel agency.
Rennie’s directors sat on the Durban Harbour Board and were involved in the deepening of the harbour entry as well as the removal of the sand bar and establishment of a signal station.
This improvement of the harbour brought life to Natal. After the war Alick and Peggy bought a house in Kloof.
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Dr Cleeve Robertson, CEO of NSRI welcomed the Rennie family and thanked the Family Trust, the principle sponsor of the Alick Rennie rescue craft and other donors who made it possible to fund the rescue boats.
Representing the family, Margie Firth, poured champagne over the pontoons and named her the Alick Rennie.
“May God bless her and all who sail in her,” she said.
His Excellency M. Christophe Farnaud, Ambassador of France to South Africa, attended the blessing accompanied by William Roos, French Economic Counsellor, Head of the Economic Department for Southern Africa.
“The French Embassy and our French consulates in South Africa enjoy excellent cooperation with the NSRI and we are pleased to see this sea rescue craft, built in France, and used extensively on French waters by the French sea rescue service SNSM : Journée Nationale de Sauvetage en mer, now in service on South African waters. This is actually the first of this type of craft to operate in Africa,” said Farnaud.
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