VESSEL REVIEW | Port Stephens 30 – New 10-metre boat joins Australian rescue charity

Australian search and rescue (SAR) charity Marine Rescue New South Wales recently took delivery of a new rigid inflatable boat (RIB) from The Whiskey Project Group, the partnership formed by local boatbuilder Yamba Welding and Engineering and New Zealand-based naval architecture firm Naiad Design.

The boat has been christened Port Stephens 30, though it has also been given the alternate name Shirley Clark in honour of a long-time volunteer serving with the Marine Rescue Port Stephens station on New South Wales' Hunter region. It is one of 38 new rescue boats funded by the NSW Government's AU$37.6 million (US$24.6 million) investment in 2019 to support the work of Marine Rescue NSW volunteers.

The new boat has a length of 10 metres and two Suzuki 223kW outboard engines that deliver a speed of around 43 knots. An under-chine anchor system, ergonomic seats, and handrails placed on the bow and the wheelhouse roof ensure improved crew safety while an integrated guardrail provides impact protection for the outboards when the RIB is manoeuvring alongside other vessels.

The wheelhouse electronics include a radar and other equipment from Raymarine and a Teledyne FLIR rotating thermal camera to allow SAR missions to be carried out even during nighttime and/or under adverse weather conditions. The wheelhouse itself has forward-angled windscreens to reduce glare.

Port Stephens 30 replaces an older similarly named 8.5-metre-long boat in the Marine Rescue NSW fleet.

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