Lerwick Lifeboat Station
| All-Weather Lifeboat | |
|---|---|
| Launch Method | Moored afloat |
| Address | Lerwick, Shetland, ZE1 0LL |
| Telephone | 01595 693827 |
Explore two centuries of RNLI lifeboat history, heroic rescues, and the enduring tradition of saving lives at sea.
From Lerwick, capital of Shetland and 120 miles off the Scottish mainland, the station runs a Severn-class all-weather lifeboat into some of the most demanding seas in the British Isles. A lifeboat has served here since 1930, and the crews’ honours include one of the RNLI’s rare modern Gold Medals.
The RNLI established a station at Lerwick in 1930, sending one of its most powerful boats to this remote archipelago. Barely a week later, the trawler Ben Doran was wrecked off Shetland with the loss of all nine crew — the nearest lifeboat then 360 miles away at Stromness — a tragedy that underlined the need for the new station and, soon after, for another at Aith.
Lerwick’s crews have earned a remarkable gallantry record. The crowning service came on 19 November 1997, when the cargo vessel Green Lily drifted towards the cliffs off Bressay in a violent storm; as the last tow failed, all hope rested on the lifeboat, and Coxswain/Mechanic Hewitt Clark took her in again and again to snatch five men to safety — for which he received the Gold Medal, the RNLI’s highest award.
Lerwick has run the Severn-class Michael and Jane Vernon since 1997.
