And Will Stephens, the RNLI’s head of lifesaving, urged Islanders to get behind those who do volunteer and acknowledged it was a ‘brave’ thing to do given the tensions between the former crew and the charity. A formal recruitment drive is due to be launched next week.
Mr Stephens said: ‘Some of those who have expressed an interest are concerned how a new St Helier crew will be received. If people do step up and volunteer and it becomes difficult for whatever reason that would be really sad. We need the community to back them.’
The organisation is arranging training for volunteers on board the all-weather vessel at its headquarters at Poole. The boat is then expected to return to the Island for further training sessions towards the end of next month or sooner.
And the charity hopes to have the inshore lifeboat back in service by mid-December.
Mr Stephens, added: ‘We are committed to rebuilding an RNLI lifeboat service in St Helier and we are confident we will have an efficient, reliable and sustainable RNLI lifeboat service in the near future.
‘We are making good progress and are aiming to get the St Helier inshore lifeboat back on service by mid-December.
‘We are on track to get the Jersey all-weather lifeboat back on the Island for training by the end of the year, if not sooner.
‘About a dozen people have already approached us to express an interest in volunteering at the station. We will be talking to these individuals in the next few days as we begin a recruitment process next week for new crew and other station roles.’
Meanwhile, the St Helier station’s RNLI shop, which normally closes in mid-December for the winter, has now shut and will not reopen until Easter.
The charity said that volunteers would focus on raising funds at RNLI stalls at markets and events.
Mr Stephens said the organisation was ‘committed to returning a lifeboat service to St Helier as quickly as possible’, and added: ‘Strong leadership, teamwork and professional relationships are essential to all emergency services.
‘The RNLI relies on its crews and station to save lives at sea, and this relationship is dependent not only on maritime expertise but adhering to collaborative and co-operative ways of working.
‘We’re committed to building these relationships and this collaborative way of working as we work to restore a lifesaving service from St Helier.’
Asked if the RNLI was concerned that fundraising in Jersey would drop massively given the now negative public towards the charity from some Islanders, Mr Stephens said: ‘Of course we are concerned about that. It would be wrong for us not to be concerned. We are aware there are differences of opinion but we know there are people who still support us.’
Environment Minister Steve Luce, an RNLI volunteer himself since 1988, yesterday welcomed the announcement by the RNLI that they were pushing ahead with plans to find a new St Helier crew.
In a statement he said: ‘It is clear they intend to return their St Helier station to a state of readiness as quickly as they can. I’m sure the whole community will be very relieved to know that we will soon have lifeboat cover back in St Helier.’
Deputy Luce added that, on behalf of the Council of Ministers, he continues to hold regular meetings with relevant parties to ensure a search-and-rescue response remains available while the St Helier station is closed.
Speaking about the former St Helier crew wanting to go solo, he said: ‘I met with the ex-crew of the St Helier lifeboat to discuss their plans for independent lifeboats. They presented their plans, and we discussed how government and the Coastguard might help further their ideas.
‘Any proposal to put viable and sustainable search and rescue assets back on station will be provided with appropriate support.’
