RNLI cost-saving cuts put lives at risk during the tanker crash response in the North Sea today, a whistleblower has claimed.
Thirty-two people were rescued and brought ashore after the US-flagged MV Stena Immaculate exploded into a ‘massive fireball’ off the Yorkshire coast today when it was hit by Portuguese container ship MV Solong in the Humber Estuary near Hull.
However, although the RNLI had a £2.5million all-weather ship with a covered deck stationed just 10 miles away, it sent an inflatable B class Atlantic 85, the B 887 – an inshore boat that the RNLI’s own website says is ‘designed to operate in shallower water’.
The RNLI says its all-weather ship, a Severn class, ‘can take on the worst sea conditions and comes into her own on long offshore searches and rescues’.
But marine traffic data shows the RNLI’s all-weather boat at Grimsby, the RNLI Lifeboat 17 05, was left docked in Grimsby for almost six hours after the crash, which happened at around 10am. It was only sent out to sea at 3.51pm today, records show.
An RNLI whistleblower told MailOnline this was because there weren’t enough crew to man the ship owing to cost-saving cuts imposed by the charity’s management.
He said sending volunteers into the toxic fumes from the tanker’s burning jet fuel would likely cause ‘illness’ and presented a danger – and had ‘incensed’ other volunteers since there was a perfectly functioning all-weather boat nearby.
The whistleblower said: ‘They are putting the lives at risk of those on the Atlantic 85. Nobody seems to give a damn about saving lives.
The scene of the disaster, about 10 miles of the East Yorkshire coast, was completely engulfed by flames
RNLI crew were sent out on an inflatable B class Atlantic 85 like this one (File image)
The RNLI £2.5million all-weather ship was docked in Grimsby until 3.51pm, the records show
‘The Severn Class is the one that goes and does the big stuff. It’s the ideal boat to send.
‘It’s a sad day for the institution. Today my colleagues are incensed by them sending a B class that’s open into that toxic smoke.
‘You have a £2.5million boat sat idle because they have lost the crew.
‘You would think the lifeboat would be there today.’
He said the ship’s former and current crew had gone through painful rounds of cuts that had decimated them – and left the ship at risk of being unmannable, as he said happened today.
Instead of using an all-weather boat like this in the initial rescue, the RNLI used a ship open to the elements (File image)
A rescue ship was pictured at the scene appeared to blast the smouldering vessels with water
Dramatic images appear to show one of the two vessels turned into a blazing inferno following the crash
Stena Immaculate is a US-flagged ship was reportedly carrying jet fuel when it collided with another vessel
He praised the crew for putting up with management for so long and added: ‘[Management has] cut back to the point no one wants to do it anymore.’
The whistleblower said: ‘I would never normally speak to you. I just can’t keep quiet anymore. All the old hands are just marking time until we can go.
‘It seems very strange the RNLI doesn’t care about having boats available.
‘It’s about ticking boxes. The most capable boat that would have been there is in Grimsby docks.
‘How on Earth are you sending people without any breathing apparatus into that smoke when you have a covered boat?
‘They are going to cause illness and dangers. It’s jet fuel. It;s on fire, it’s toxic and black.
‘Where is the logic in this?’
Last year, MailOnline revealed the lifeboat organisation was accused of harbouring a toxic culture of bullying that sees volunteers ‘mistreated’ and bosses doing ‘anything’ to silence people who threaten its reputation and donations, even if it means ‘lying to the public’.
Former volunteers who gave decades of their lives to the RNLI told MailOnline they will ‘never give another penny’ to the charity.
Other ships came to the aid of the two ships involved in the collision that started a huge fire
Fire and rescue services attend after a collision between oil tanker MV Stena Immaculate and the cargo vessel MV Solong on March 10, 2025
Thick smoke awaited rescuers today after the two ships collided in the sea off the Yorkshire coast
From plotting with ‘arrogant’ youngsters to force out volunteers with 320 years of combined experience to covering up ‘assaults, sexism and bullying’, RNLI stations around the country have faced a plethora of controversial accusations.
Whistleblowers say what ties the stations’ troubles together is RNLI management’s almost identical style of response, which they claim is lies, denials and a refusal to apologise in the face of a mountain of evidence.
The RNLI has consistently rejected such claims.
After the crash today, the whistleblower said: ‘This culture needs to change, but I don’t think it will.
‘It’s an awful thing. At the moment I feel like handing my resignation in.’
When MailOnline spoke to the Grimsby RNLI station at 4.10pm, staff said the ship was ‘out’.
MailOnline has contacted the RNLI for comment.
