Vessels and Equipment

NIFCA has a range of vessels and equipment it uses to carry out its duties in the district including the Authority patrol and survey vessel ‘St Aidan’, the smaller RIB ‘TT St Aidan’ which can be launched from the patrol vessel, and the large cabin RIB ‘Robert Arckless MBE’ used primarily for carrying out enforcement duties in the district.

St Aidan

St Aidan is a modern purpose-built fisheries patrol/survey catamaran. Built 2014/15 in Great Yarmouth, this is the first vessel of the SB LYNX 1600 design.

Using G.R.P (Glass reinforced plastic) its gross weight is 25 tonne with an overall length of 17.50 metres. It has a beam of 5.50 metre and draft of 1.60 metre and is powered by twin Cummins QSC 8.3 main engines with Twin Disc MGX5065A Gearboxes. Giving a sprint speed of 23 knots and a cruising speed of 17 knots, the St Aidan is coded to MCA category 2, with a capacity of carrying 10 passengers/crew.

The vessel is fitted with a winch at the rear which can be used during surveys throughout the district, including this benthic grab survey conducted in November 2021.

TT St Aidan

St Aidan is Equipped with a RibCraft 5.3 metre Rigid Inflatable Boat (RIB) with a 90hp, 4 stroke Suzuki engine, which sits on a removable cradle on the aft deck. The RIB is launched and recovered from St Aidan using an overhead A-Frame assembly and winch arrangement. TT St Aidan is coded to MCA category 4 and is used mostly for carrying out boarding inspections of fishing activities within the NIFCA district, but can also be utilised for independent inshore survey work.

Removing the RIB and cradle from the deck frees up a large open aft deck where a number of survey operations can be carried out safely.

Robert Arckless MBE

The ‘Robert Arckless MBE’ is a 9.5 metre cabin RIB which was built at Ribcraft, Yeovil, Somerset. The vessel was 70% funded by European Maritime and Fisheries Fund (EMFF) with the balance from the Authority’s own resources and is used to carry out enforcement duties and survey work in the district. The vessel is capable of carrying 4 crew at cruising speeds of 20 knots and with a range of approximately 200 miles.

The ‘Robert Arckless MBE’ was named in honour of NIFCA’s former Chair and Northumberland County Councillor.

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