Three new Bobcat T250 compact tracked loaders have been supplied to the Royal National Lifeboat Institution (RNLI) for launching inshore lifeboats (ILB) and beach grading work at RNLI stations around the coast of England.

The first has gone into service at the Selsey lifeboat station in West Sussex, with a second being delivered shortly to RNLI Walmer lifeboat station in Kent. The third T250 will be retained as part of the RNLI relief equipment fleet run from the headquarters in Poole, Dorset. The T250s have also been supplied with Bobcat 6-way dozer blades to reconstruct and grade beach surfaces at the lifeboat stations.

Angus Watson, New Construction Manager at the RNLI, who is responsible for procuring all new plant for the organisation, said: “We have had good experience with the Bobcat compact tracked loaders at several of our lifeboat stations around England including Hastings, Eastbourne and Flamborough. We purchase them for two reasons. The first is for their role as a powered vehicle to take the ILBs to and from the water for launching and the second is their ability when equipped with the dozer blades and other attachments, to recondition the beach for our ease of launch and recovery of the lifeboat.”