Ahoy! New NSRI rescue vessel to bolster Richards Bay fleet

A brand new rescue craft is en route to Richards Bay’s NSRI Station 19, its estimated time of arrival Saturday morning.

The Offshore Rescue Craft (ORC) is presently en route to Zululand from Cape Town, where it was built.
The crew will travel a total distance of 1 068 nautical miles, which is equivalent to over 1 900km, averaging 38km/h.

NSRI director of rescue services Brett Ayres said, “Rescue 19 will be able to cover the northern coastline of KZN up to the Mozambican border. This is one of many reasons this latest ORC is going to Richards Bay.”

Ayres highlighted the great need for the vessel, owing to the Richards Bay rescue base aiding many commercial ship as well as yacht traffic.

The ORC will share a boundary with Durban and Ballito NSRI stations at the Tugela river; the largest river in KZN.

NSRI training manager Graeme Harding, who is also the delivery skipper for the voyage, said, “Preparing for a trip of this nature requires a lot of planning. One needs to do a full passage plan, as well as consider logistics, weather and sea conditions.

“A passage plan is a process where you consider all the hazards and plot a safe passage, with the different bearings, speeds and fuel consumption for each leg.”

In the event that something should go awry, the vessel is tracked by the NSRI Volunteer Support Centre.

“We will now be able to see a vast improvement in our capability to deliver rescue services in the northern parts of KZN. As Richards Bay is our most northern class 1 station, it is located at an essential, strategic location to cover our coastline,” concluded Ayres.

HAVE YOUR SAY