South Sea Lifeboat Service

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South Sea Lifeboat Service
South sea lifeboat service logo.png
Nation: South Sea Islands South Sea Islands
Patron: HRM King Josephus
Headquarters: Albion House, Joseph Town
Area of operation: South Sea Islands, Corum
Abbreviation: SSLS

The South Sea Lifeboat Service (often abbreviated as the SSLS) is a volunteer lifeboat service serving the South Sea Islands and surrounding oceans. Created in 1695 AN by Reverend Pieter de Jonge following the foundering of the SS. Montgomery in February 1694 AN, the volunteer service operates alongside the rescue service provided by the South Sea Islands Defence Force.

History

SS. Montgomery

The container ship SS. Montgomery was a Nova English registered container ship that foundered and sank 20km north of Joseph Town on the evening of February 13th 1694 AN. The 5500 tonne, 112 meter long vessel lost engine power during a category 4 storm with winds of 246 km/h, and began taking on water at 7.40pm. The strong winds and darkness made rescue difficult, particularly when the ship began listing severely.

High seas fishing ships from Joseph Town joined SSIDF Steadfast in attempting to rescue the crew, but a lack of specialist equipment hampered the rescue efforts.

Shortly after 11pm, with 7 of the 22 crew transferred to the Steadfast, the Montgomery capsized and sank shortly thereafter.

Foundation

Following the loss of life onboard the Montgomery, Reverend Pieter de Jonge began fundraising for the creation of a specialist lifeboat service, to avoid future losses of life at sea. Fundraising activities spread rapidly through the churches of the Protestantse Kerk in de Zuidzee-eilanden, with the first lifeboat commissioned by the newly established coordination committee during the summer of 1694 AN.

The Koning Josephus was launched in March 1695 AN, only 13 months after the loss of the Montgomery, with the Heilige Drie-eenheid following six weeks later.

Operations

Operating out of the harbour of Joseph Town, the two lifeboats of the SSLS are manned entirely by volunteers, and respond to distress calls or requests for assistance by vessels operating anywhere in the vicinity of the South Sea Islands or southern Corum. The SSLS is a registered charity and relies entirely on donations and grants to finance its activities, although the Government of the South Sea Islands has agreed to fund the construction and equipping of a second station at Zuid-Richel Seaport.

As of May 1696, the SSLS has approximately 80 volunteer carrying out various functions including maintenance, engineering, launch support and ship's crew.