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AV Dawson comes to the rescue of world’s oldest lifeboat

[ November 28, 2018   //   ]

The world’s oldest surviving lifeboat has made its first journey for 55 years, temporarily leaving her Redcar home for conservation work with the help of Middlesbrough logistics firm AV Dawson.

The historic Zetland Lifeboat was loaded at the Zetland Lifeboat Museum in Redcar onto a low loader provided by Richmond haulage company, GCS Johnson, and transported to AV Dawson’s premises on the banks of the River Tees, where conservation work will be carried out by respected Redcar boat builder, Tony Young.

The Zetland Lifeboat was built in 1802 in South Shields saw 62 years of service, saving more than 500 lives before she was retired in 1864, although she returned to the fray on one last occasion in 1880 when the brig ‘Luna’ breached Redcar pier, taking off all seven crew members.

AV Dawson managing director, Gary Dawson, comments: “This is a very special project and one that is of huge historical importance; when it was brought to our attention that they were struggling to find a warehouse with an overhead crane in order to carry out their conservation project we were more than happy to offer one of ours. It’s quite apt that the oldest lifeboat in the world now comes to one of the oldest quaysides on the Tees to be restored and conserved for the enjoyment of many generations to come.”

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