New Coastguard Rescue Vessel for Wellington

Our Coastguard volunteer crews save lives in one of the most treacherous bodies of water in the world. The Cook Strait is well known as an unforgiving environment that demands the greatest respect. Our courageous crews venture into this environment relying on their training, experience, resources and equipment to save the lives of those who find themselves in difficult situations.

Wellington Coastguards Rescue Vessel, “Spirit of Wellington” is now 21 years old, and she’s really showing her age. Over recent years, “Spirit of Wellington” has spent months undergoing repairs and maintenance to keep her fit for service; valuable time when she wasn't available to save lives.

We now need to replace her so that our volunteers can continue to provide our life saving service in a modern and fit for purpose vessel. A vessel which can carry vital search equipment, provide a reasonable height for visibility during a search and have sufficient covered space to protect crew and casualties from the weather.

We need a fast reliable vessel to get on the scene quickly is essential as survivability rates for people in the water can be very low, just 30 minutes can change a rescue into a body retrieval. A new vessel with increased range and the ability to stay out on the water longer will be invaluable, especially in an extended search and rescue situation.

After considerable research and deliberation, our preferred option is to purchase an AMF 12 metre rescue vessel at a cost of around $1.2. This vessel will provide a longer service life due to their robust design and twin diesel jet engines. It will have reduced maintenance costs, improved manoeuvrability, operational ability in shallow water and increased safety in retrieving victims by eliminating the possibility of propeller strike.

Your support is vital. It will ensure we do not find ourselves in a position where the capability of our essential life saving marine search and rescue services are less than what we require.

Your help will give our volunteers the tools they need to respond to any marine emergency in our region.