SOLAS Tender Builders

Pascoe, Cobra, Whitmarsh, SOLAS Marine and where coded RIBs cross over with rescue duty.

SOLAS-coded tender briefs come from a narrow part of the market and end up on a short builder list. Five yards build the bulk of the SOLAS rescue tenders on commercial superyachts; the right one for any given brief depends on whether the boat is a single-purpose rescue craft or a dual-purpose rescue plus working tender.

Pascoe International (UK)

The dominant builder in the dual-purpose SOLAS plus working-tender bracket. Pascoe's strength is building one boat that meets SOLAS coding and also serves as a normal guest or crew tender, with a finish quality that does not look out of place against the rest of the yacht's tenders.

Range: 7 to 12m typical, with some larger custom builds. Multiple flag-state certifications (MCA, Cayman, Marshall Islands, Bermuda, Malta) held in-house.

Best for: programmes that want a single tender slot in the garage to cover both rescue duty and working use. The cost premium over a single-purpose SOLAS RIB is real but lower than buying two separate boats.

Models we see most: SY 8500 SOLAS, SY 9500 dual-purpose.

Cobra Ribs (UK)

UK-based RIB specialist with strong SOLAS pedigree. Cobra builds SOLAS-coded craft from 5.5m to 9m, focused on the pure-rescue end rather than the dual-purpose end.

Range: 5.5 to 9m. SOLAS coding standard across most of the line.

Best for: programmes where the SOLAS brief is the primary use and a separate working tender lives elsewhere in the garage.

Whitmarsh Marine (UK)

Long-standing SOLAS specialist; well represented across smaller commercial yachts where the rescue tender is a dedicated boat with no other duties. Whitmarsh's competitive edge is build cost; the boats are functional rather than fashionable, but they hold up in service.

Range: 4 to 7m predominantly.

Best for: budget-constrained commercial programmes that need certified rescue capability without paying premium-builder pricing.

Williams Jet Tenders (UK)

Williams offers SOLAS variants of its DieselJet 565 and 625 platforms. The format is the same as the standard guest RIB but with the SOLAS coding package, equipment fit, and certified lifting points.

Best for: programmes already standardised on Williams for the rest of the tender fleet, where keeping consistent maintenance, parts, and crew familiarity across the garage matters more than optimising the SOLAS-specific build.

Models we see most: DieselJet 565 SOLAS, DieselJet 625 SOLAS.

SOLAS Marine (UK and Saudi Arabia)

Specialist builder; the company name is the category name. Less commonly seen on the upper-end yacht-tender brief because the build aesthetic and finish do not always match high-spec yacht expectations, but a credible option for the pure-rescue brief on commercial vessels where regulatory compliance is the only consideration.

Range: 5 to 9m.

Best for: commercial yachts where the SOLAS tender is a regulatory requirement to be ticked off rather than a guest-facing asset.

How to shortlist

The brief variables that drive the right yard:

  1. Use mix. Pure rescue: Cobra, Whitmarsh, SOLAS Marine. Dual-purpose rescue plus working: Pascoe, Williams. Premium dual-purpose: Pascoe.
  2. Yacht-side standardisation. If the rest of the tender fleet is Williams, the SOLAS Williams variant simplifies operations. If the fleet is mixed and the SOLAS boat is a one-off, Pascoe or Cobra are usually the right answer.
  3. Budget envelope. Cost per metre runs roughly Whitmarsh < SOLAS Marine < Cobra < Williams < Pascoe.
  4. Flag-state familiarity. Pascoe and Williams hold the most flag certifications in-house; smaller builders may need third-party certification work.

See also