RNLB Margaret Russell Fraser was an Arun-class lifeboat[4] which served in the Royal National Lifeboat Institution(RNLI) Relief Fleet for 16 years before being placed on station at the Calshot Lifeboat Station in Calshot, Hampshire, United Kingdom.[5]
 RNLB Margaret Russell Fraser (ON 1108)
| |
| History | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Owner | Royal National Lifeboat Institution (RNLI) |
| Builder | VT Halmatic[1] |
| Official Number | ON 1108[2] |
| Donor | Legacy of Miss Margaret R. Fraser Glasgow |
| Station | Relief Fleet (1986 – 2002) Calshot[3] |
| Cost | £417,616 |
| Laid down | 1985 |
| Launched | 1986 |
| Christened | 11 June 1986 |
| Completed | 1986 |
| Acquired | 1986 |
| In service | 1986 – 2004 |
| Fate | Sold out of fleet in 2004 to ICE-SAR Iceland |
| General characteristics | |
| Class and type | Arun-class |
| Type | Motor lifeboat |
| Displacement | 32 long tons (33 t) |
| Length | 54 ft (16 m) overall |
| Beam | 17 ft (5.2 m) |
| Draught | 5 ft (1.5 m) |
| Propulsion | 2 × Caterpillar 460 hp (343 kW) diesel engines |
| Speed | 18.5 knots (21.3 mph; 34.3 km/h) |
| Range | 250 nmi (460 km) |
| Crew | 6 |
Procurement
editMargaret Russell Fraser was built VT Halmatic in Portsmouth to serve in the RNLI’s Relief Fleet of five of the Arun-class lifeboats.[4] She was fitted out and tested trials at Souter Marine in Cowes before being handed over to the RNLI in April 1986.[4] Much of the cost for the lifeboat was met with a bequest from Margaret R. Fraser, for whom the lifeboat was named at a ceremony in her hometown of Glasgow, Scotland in June 1986.[6]
Royal National Lifeboat Institution service
editRelief fleet
editThe Margaret Russell Fraser was first posted to the Republic of Ireland, where she spent the next three years stationed at Rosslare Harbour, Ballycotton, Valentia, and finally Aran Island.[7][8][9][10] In September 1989 she was sent across the Irish Sea to Yarmouth Lifeboat Station on the Isle of Wight, her first English station posting.[11]
While at Yarmouth she was involved in the October 1989 rescue of the RoRo cargo vessel Al Kwather 1.[12] The Margaret Russell Fraser launched into gale force 9 winds to assist the Swanage Rother-class lifeboat RNLB Horace Clarkson (ON 1047), which had been on the scene since 11.30 am.[13] The Margaret Russell Fraser arrived on the scene at 3.10 pm, but both vessels soon departed as the Al Kwather 1 appeared to be in no immediate danger.[14]
Just after midnight, the captain of the Al Kwather 1 requested assistance again following engine trouble. When the two lifeboats returned, the ship was in complete darkness, listing to port and rolling violently.[14] The Margaret Russell Fraser approached from the stern and rescued one of pair of crewmen hanging on to a cargo net.[14] The coxswain of the Margaret Russell Fraser was awarded an RNLI Bronze Medal for his part in the service.[15]
Calshot Lifeboat Station
editIn 2002 the Margaret Russell Fraser was taken out of the relief fleet and placed on her sole permanent posting at Calshot Lifeboat Station in Hampshire, where she replaced the Brede-class lifeboat RNLB Safeway (ON 1104).[16] She remained on service at Calshot for just over two years before she was replaced by the Arun-class lifeboat RNLB Mabel Williams (ON 1159).
Icelandic service
editIn 2004 after 19 years service with the RNLI the Margaret Russell Fraser was sold out of the service. She was purchased by the Icelandic Association for Search and Rescue who renamed her Ingibjörg.[17] She has been stationed at Höfn[18] on the south east coast of Iceland since 2005.
References
edit- ^ "Halmatic". Reference to the construction of the Arun-class Lifeboats by the company. Sail Boat Data © 2014. Retrieved 31 March 2014.
- ^ "Arun-Class Lifeboats". List of Arun-class lifeboats, includes ON-1108. Lifeboat World On-Line© 2014. Retrieved 11 March 2014.
- ^ "Calshot Lifeboat Station – RNLI website". Home page of the Calshot station. RNLI © 2014. Retrieved 31 March 2014.
- ^ a b c Lifeboats – An illustrated history of the RNLI Arun lifeboats 1971 – 2009. Author: Leach, Nicholas. Publisher: Kelsey Publishing Ltd. 2011. work: Page 104, Margaret Russell Fraser. ISBN 9781907426216
- ^ OS Explorer Map, New Forest, Author: Ordnance Survey. Publisher: Ordnance Survey B4 edition (2013). ISBN 9780319241509
- ^ Lifeboat Gallantry - RNLI Medals and how they were won. Author: Cox, Barry. Published by: Spink & Son Ltd. Work: Page 374 - GILCHRIST Alexander, Coxswain/mechanic, Campbeltown Lifeboat. ISBN 0907605893
- ^ "Rosslare Harbour Lifeboat Station – RNLI website". Home page of the Rosslare Harbour station. RNLI © 2014. Retrieved 2 April 2014.
- ^ "Ballycotton Lifeboat Station – RNLI website". Home page of the Ballycotton station. RNLI © 2014. Retrieved 2 April 2014.
- ^ "Valentia Lifeboat Station – RNLI website". Home page of the Valentia station. RNLI © 2014. Retrieved 2 April 2014.
- ^ "Arun Lifeboat Station – RNLI website". Home page of the Arun station. RNLI © 2014. Retrieved 2 April 2014.
- ^ "Yarmouth Lifeboat Station – RNLI website". Home page of the Yarmouth station. RNLI © 2014. Retrieved 2 April 2014.
- ^ "Al Kwather 1 - IMO 6903400". Photograph and details of Al Kwather 1. Ship Spotting.com© 2014. Retrieved 11 March 2014.
- ^ "Rother-Class Lifeboats". List of Rother-class lifeboats, includes ON-1047. Lifeboat World On-Line© 2014. Retrieved 11 March 2014.
- ^ a b c For Those In Peril – The Lifeboat Service of the United Kingdom and the Republic of Ireland, Station by Station. Author: Leach, Nicholas. Publisher: Silver Link Publishing Ltd, First Issue 1999. Work:Part 2, South Coast of England – Eastbourne to Weston-super-Mare, Page 79, Yarmouth, Isle of Wight. ISBN 1 85794 129 2
- ^ Lifeboat Gallantry: RNLI Medals and how they were won. Author: Cox, Barry. Publisher:Spink & son Ltd and the RNLI, 1998. Work: KENNETT David George, Coxswain, Yarmouth, Isle of Wight, Lifeboat: Page 390/391. ISBN 0907605893
- ^ "Breda-Class Lifeboats". List of Brede-class lifeboats, includes ON-1104. Lifeboat World On-Line© 2014. Retrieved 2 April 2014.
- ^ "Emergency Vehicle: Höfn Ingibjög". Photograph and details of the Ingibjög. Ebner Verlag GMBH and Co.© 2014. Retrieved 2 April 2014.
- ^ "Björgunarskipið Inga sick crew". A report of the Ingibjög (Margaret Russell Fraser) attend an incident on 25 April 2013. Hornafjörður community © 2014. Retrieved 2 April 2014.
