The Severn class is the largest lifeboat operated by the Royal National Lifeboat Institution (RNLI). The class, which is long, was introduced into service in 1996. It is named after the River Severn, the longest river in Great Britain. The lifeboats are stationed at 33 locations around the coasts of the Great Britain, Ireland, and the Channel Islands, and can provide coverage up to out to sea.
All of the following fleet details are referenced to the 2026 Lifeboat Enthusiasts' Society Handbook, with information retrieved directly from RNLI records.
In the 1980s the RNLI's fast and all-weather lifeboats provided coverage out to sea, operating at up to to cover the distance in two hours in good weather. However, the RNLI felt that they needed the capability to extend their coverage to radius, which would require lifeboats with a top speed of . This resulted in the Severn and lifeboats.
The prototype Severn was launched in 1991 and named Maurice and Joyce Hardy (ON 1179). Trials started the following year and lasted until 1998. In 1995, the boat was de-named. Problems were encountered during the trials with the "skegs" that protected the propellers. These were designed to protect the hull by breaking off should the boat hit rocks, but the first ones were too easily broken. Crashing through heavy seas at full speed also caused damage to the hull, too.
The prototype was transferred to training work in 1998, renamed Peter and Marion Fulton (ON TL-02), ultimately being withdrawn in 2004, and sold in 2005. In 2008, it was in use as a dive boat at Buckie, carrying the name Gemini Storm. She was then sold to Montrose Marine Services Ltd in 2011 and renamed Eileen May. Latterly, she was sold 2019 into private ownership, last reported as a charter boat based at Dumfries.
The first production Severn was 17-02 The Will (ON 1201). It had been built in 1995 by Berthon Boat Co (Builders of 21 of the 46 Severn-class lifeboats) for , but had to undergo several modifications before it was fit for service. It was eventually placed in the relief fleet in 1996, and shown to many lifeboat stations, where the class was expected to be deployed. The crew at Falmouth Lifeboat Station were so impressed, that they pressed the RNLI to station it there, until their own boat was built. It operated at Falmouth from January 1997 until December 2001, when it was replaced by 17-29 Richard Scott Cox (ON 1256). In the meantime, 17-18 Tom Sanderson (ON 1238) had been deployed at Stornoway in 1999. After its time at Falmouth, The Will returned to the relief fleet until 2019, when it was the first Severn Class assigned to undergo the Severn Life Extension Programme, (see below). Construction of the Severn-class continued until 2005.
In 2015, the Canadian Coast Guard commissioned a version of the Severn class, modified for the extreme conditions found off the coast of Newfoundland and Labrador and Nova Scotia. Now known as Bay-class lifeboats, the last of 20 boats, Baie de Gaspé, was completed in 2025.
In January 2025, 17-29 Richard Scott Cox (ON 1256) was the first production Severn class to be formally retired from service.
Severns are constructed of fibre reinforced composite material, and their hard chine semi-displacement hull is built so that it will stay afloat with two of its five compartments flooded. For added manoeuvrability, in addition to twin engines, the Severn also has a bow thruster fitted. The propellers are enclosed so that the Severn can take ground without damaging them. A inflatable boat can be deployed by an on-board crane for use in shallow water or confined spaces.
Severns have comprehensive electronics systems that include full MF and VHF DSC radio equipment, differential GPS navigator, an electronic chart system, VHF radio direction finder, radar and weather sensors. Provision for survivors includes comprehensive first aid equipment including stretchers, oxygen and Entonox. They carry a portable salvage pump in a water-tight container, and can also carry out pumping and fire-fighting tasks using the engine-driven general service pump.
In 2020, the RNLI started to design a Severn Life Extension Programme (SLEP), with the intention of extending the fleet's lifespan by 25 years. This involved taking an existing boat and fully refitting it from the hull up. The addition of modern electronic systems and shock mitigating seats similar to those found on the Shannon class lifeboats were among many upgrades. In July 2022 it was announced that the prototype was almost complete and would soon be ready for sea trials.
In early 2025 the RNLI announced that, following a fleet review, the Severn Life Extension Programme would not be continued beyond the two boats already in the programme. Instead, Severn-class boats would be progressively withdrawn over the next fifteen years.