The E-class lifeboat forms part of the Royal National Lifeboat Institution (RNLI) lifeboat fleet of the United Kingdom, operating exclusively in the tidal reach of the River Thames in London.
The class was introduced in 2002, to serve the River Thames, which had not previously been covered by an RNLI rescue service. This was the result of a much delayed inquiry into the Marchioness disaster in 1989, in which 51 people died. The inquiry criticised the lack of a rescue service for the tidal Thames, and the UK government asked the Maritime and Coastguard Agency, the Port of London Authority and the RNLI to work together, to set up a dedicated Search and Rescue service for this stretch of the river.
Four RNLI stations were established to cover the River Thames, , , , and at , the latter operating the smaller Inshore lifeboat, allowing service inland beyond the tidal reach of the river at Teddington Lock.
An E-class boat, Olive Laura Deare (E-002), initially operated from Gravesend Lifeboat Station, to the east of London, but it proved less suitable for the more estuarine conditions found there, and was replaced with the , Olive Laura Deare II (B-827), in 2008.
There are three different versions of the E-class, described as the Mark I, Mark II and Mark III. The Mark I boats operated from 2002, but their service came to an end in 2021, with the retirement of Legacy (E-005).
All versions of the E-class carry a variety of rescue equipment, including a marine VHF radio, a first aid kit, emergency defibrillator, a GPS navigation system, night vision equipment, a self-righting system, a radar interrogator, towing equipment, and lighting equipment.
As of December 2025, there are four E-class lifeboats in service: three Mark II's, split between Chiswick Lifeboat Station to the west of central London, and Tower Lifeboat Station at Victoria Embankment in central London, and a Mk III, Hearn Medicine Chest (E-10), operating at .
A 4th E-class, a Valiant RIB, bearing no relationship to the Thames boats, was designated E-01 in 2001, and stationed at Enniskillen (Lower) in Northern Ireland between 2001 and 2003.
The Mark I boat was an off the shelf design built by Tiger Marine. It is made of an aluminium alloy with a closed cell polythene foam collar, and is powered by two Steyr marine diesel engines, each delivering at 4,100rpm and driving Hamilton waterjets. This combination gives the boats a maximum speed of and the extreme maneuverability which is essential to enable crews to reach casualties in the fast flowing river.
The boat is long, has a beam of , a draft of , a displacement of , and carries three crew. The maximum endurance at full speed is 4 hours.
The Mark II boat was designed by RNLI engineers, incorporating experience gained with the Mark I boats, and built by Marine Specialised Technology in Liverpool. It has a glass epoxy-resin composite hull with a detachable polyurethane covered solid closed-cell foam collar, and is powered by two Volvo marine diesel engines delivering each at 3,300rpm and driving Hamilton waterjets. This combination gives the boats an improved maximum speed of .
The boat is long, has a beam of without collar and with collar, a draft of , a displacement of , and carries four crew. The maximum endurance at full speed is 3 hours.
The Mark III E-class Lifeboat is a Delta 1100TX 11m RIB Lifeboat, built by Delta Power Group of Hazel Grove, Stockport, Cheshire. The hull is a deep 'V' Glass Reinforced Plastic (GRP) moulding. It is powered by two Volvo D6-440 marine diesel engines delivering 440 horsepower and driving two Hamilton HJ274 waterjets, with a maximum speed of .
The boat is long, has a beam of without collar and with collar, with a displacement of 7780 kg (with four crew). The maximum endurance at full speed is 3 hours.
For a short period, the RNLI operated a Valiant RIB at Enniskillen (Lower) Lifeboat Station, on Lough Erne in Northern Ireland, which was allocated the operational number E-01.