Sign of change of nautical activity, I fear, even if discouraging for those volunteers who have given years of service. Sad day for them and the Station.
It's not as if the station is closing entirely. They're replacing a 15 knot Mersey with a 35 knot Atlantic, with 25 knot Shannons going to their flank stations.
Unfortunately it's happened elsewhere, and it'll probably happen a few more times too.
Now that lifeboats have engines rather than oars, the stations don't need to be quite so close together as they were.