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New lifeboat heading for Douglas RNLI station

Douglas RNLI station will be the first in the Isle of Man to get its hands on the latest and most advanced lifeboat.

The Shannon-class boat is 50 per cent faster than the Tyne-class boat she will replace. She's due for delivery in 2016, when the current Douglas lifeboat Sir William Hillary will be more than 25 years old.

A proto-type Shannon-class boat was widely admired by lifeboat crews when she toured lifeboat stations around the Island last weekend.

Operating with water jets not propellers the Shannon will offer crews a safer, smoother ride on rough seas thanks to a shock-absorbing suspension system.

Douglas RNLI press officer Mike Howland says the boat's greater speed is a big step forward:

Pictured: Shannon class lifeboat.

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