VESSEL REVIEW | Redbill III – Durable rescue boat for Western Australian waters

Marine Rescue Broome of Western Australia has taken delivery of a new rigid inflatable boat (RIB) from local builder Kirby Marine. Designed by New Zealand-based naval architecture firm Naiad Design of Australia’s The Whiskey Project Group, Redbill III was named in honour of Redbill, an old pearling boat that was built in Fremantle in 1903 and was lost during Tropical Cyclone Rosita in 2000.

This is now the second vessel in the Marine Rescue Broome fleet, sailing alongside a 7.6-metre vessel named Ibis. The newer vessel was manufactured as part of a AU$4 million (US$2.68 million) contract to construct vessels for the state’s volunteer Marine Rescue service.

The new boat measures 10 metres long and is powered by two Yamaha outboard engines that each produce 316 kW. A keel height of 0.4 metres allows the boat to be launched directly from shore at low tide, ensuring quicker responses to rescue calls.

The RIB also has an open cabin and a tri-axle trailer that allows for beach launching. This design feature was suggested by volunteers from Marine Rescue Broome to ensure that the boat was suited to the operating conditions of the region.

Redbill III is also fitted with a Simrad radar, a Teledyne FLIR rotating thermal camera, and a radio direction finder for locating emergency position indicating radio beacons (EPIRBs).

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