Hoylake’s new Shannon class lifeboat was launched on service for the first time last night in response to a request from Liverpool Coastguard to search the River Mersey after shouts for help were heard from the river near Liverpool’s Cruise Liner Terminal.

The volunteer crew were able to make excellent time to the scene, in spite of atrocious weather conditions, due to the capabilities of their revolutionary new lifeboat and its launch and recovery vehicle.

The Hoylake vessel was able to negotiate the shallow sandbanks which lie between the station and the River Mersey at full speed to reach the search area at Liverpool Pierhead within 20 minutes of launching from East Hoyle Bank.

Although nothing was found after extensive searches by both the lifeboat and onshore Coastguard units, the launch gave the crew and their new equipment a chance to prove their worth in the most testing of conditions.

Andy Dodd, the full-time RNLI mechanic at the Hoylake Lifeboat Station, said: "The new launch and recovery vehicle allowed us to get the lifeboat across the sandbank and into the water at much greater speed than the older launch system.

"We were able to launch into heavy seas faster and more safely than ever before. It is a wonderful piece of high-tech equipment.

"Our faster launch times will inevitably save lives."

The £2m Edmund Hawthorne Micklewood, is one of the first of the Shannon class lifeboats built for the Royal National Lifeboat Institute.

It became operational last month, at the beginning of December, after a period of intensive training.

The launch and recovery vehicle cost more than £1m.

It acts as a mobile slipway and can tilt and fully rotate the lifeboat to facilitate launching and recovery. It has dramatically reduced launching times.

The Shannon is the first modern all-weather lifeboat to be powered by water jets, rather than propellers. The use of water jets means that the Shannon is more agile and manoeuvrable than any other all-weather lifeboat.

This increased manoeuvrability may be vital when precision really matters, such as operating alongside a stricken vessel or navigating around hazards.

The twin jets throw out 1.5 tonnes of water per second, driving the lifeboat to 25 knots even in difficult weather conditions.

They allow the volunteer crews to operate the lifeboat in shallow waters, increasing the areas in which the lifeboat can conduct searches and undertake rescues.