Norwegian Sea Rescue Society signs contract for a new SAR Vessel

Milestone event as Redningsselskapet, the Norwegian Sea Rescue Society signs the contract for the Naval Dynamics 32m MPV with GOT Marine AS. This All Season, All weather SAR vessel is optimised for harsh Northern Norwegian conditions.

Since Easter 2022, GOT Marine and Naval Dynamics have worked together with the Norwegian Sea Rescue Society on design and functional requirements to arrive at the final result.  

The new SAR vessel will have a long range in the harsh sea areas in the north. Skøyta will have the whole of Northern Norway as its operational area, and will be stationed as needed.     

– It is a pleasure to have signed an agreement on the construction of the largest lifeboat of all time with GOT Marine AS in Mandal. As Norway’s most important maritime rescue organisation, it is a special pleasure to sign with a Norwegian shipyard, thereby contributing to national value creation for the maritime industry in our country, says Secretary General of the Sea Rescue Society, Grete Herlofson. She adds that the new lifeboat will be unique in Norwegian lifesaving history.  

– This lifeboat can meet challenges in maritime search and rescue missions far out to sea. The vessel is equipped to assist in major accidents and mass evacuations under very demanding conditions, says Herlofson.    

The SAR Vessel will have a length of 32 metres, a cruising speed of 25 knots – top speeds of up to 30 knots, a towing power of 25-30t and a range of 600 nautical miles at cruising speed and extremely good sea characteristics and manoeuvrability. The Sea Rescue Society’s goal is for rescue boats to be operated as sustainably as possible. As a step on the way towards a more sustainable maritime preparedness, this lifeboat is equipped with hybrid propulsion. Such a solution has never been tried on a rescue vessel of this size in Norway.  

The new state-of-the-art SAR Vessel becomes a floating emergency response centre, which opens up possibilities that we have not been able to solve before. The vessel has been designed from the keel up to meet the Rescue Service’s specific requirements for a new vessel class for year-round operational service in Norway’s most exposed sea areas. It is optimized for effective and safe conventional rescue and support missions, including search and rescue (SAR), towing, firefighting and casualty transport. In addition, a major crisis situation must also be able to be handled, and both deck space, a separate diving room, treatment room and internal cabin capacity to be able to deploy sea guards if necessary are therefore key aspects.      

– We are grateful for the trust that the Sea Rescue Society shows us and are proud of the product we have jointly come up with. This will be an outstanding vessel and we are looking forward to starting the project. The contract is an important milestone for us and will open doors to more projects within fast-moving special vessels, says Øystein Sunde Pedersen, CEO of GOT Marine. 

Not possible without donations    

The Sea Rescue Society is a joint venture. The new SAR Vessel has a basic donation of NOK 110 million from GarMar Holding AS. The Sea Rescue Society is still working to secure top funding for the skate, and in this connection has received NOK 16 million from the Sparebankstiftelsen. SpareBank 1 Nord-Norge, Norges Råfisklag and Helene Sundt AS have also contributed financially. Despite large donations, more support is still needed to ensure full financing of the vessel. The Sea Rescue Society is completely dependent on gifts and donations to be able to do the work required of us, Herlofson points out.