Salcombe's new Tamar class all-weather lifeboat will be officially named The Baltic Exchange III on Saturday 17 May.

The lifeboat replaces Salcombe's Tyne class The Baltic Exchange II.

She will be named by Gail Drayton, the wife of the chairman of London-based maritime organisation The Baltic Exchange, which contributed more than £500,000 towards the cost of the new lifeboat.

The Tamar class lifeboat has a top speed of 25 knots and new safety features including an advanced seat design to reduce stress on the crews' backs while at sea.

New onboard computer controls mean many of the lifeboat's functions can be handled remotely from inside the wheelhouse while the crews are strapped into their seats.

Peter Hodges, lifeboat operations manager at RNLI Salcombe: "The crew are delighted with the new lifeboat and the way she performs, and everyone's looking forward to her official naming and dedication ceremony."

The Baltic Exchange III was greeted on her arrival in Salcombe in March by a flotilla of small boats, and cheers from the crowds on the shore.

As Peter Hodges, lifeboat operations manager at Salcombe, explains, it wasn't long before she was put through her paces: "The lifeboat has already had two shouts, and the first one came shortly after she arrived when a small speed boat broke down on the Skerries Bank off Slapton in Start Bay.

"There were two people onboard and the volunteer lifeboat crew took the casualty vessel in tow and delivered her to the harbour authorities in Dartmouth. The Tamar has also been out to a yacht that put out a distress call when she got caught in bad weather just off Salcombe.

"The crew are delighted with the new lifeboat and the way she performs, and everyone's looking forward to her official naming and dedication ceremony. It will be a chance to say thank you to the town for the wonderful local support we've had during the fundraising campaign.

"We will also be marking the generosity of The Baltic Exchange. This is the third all-weather lifeboat to bear the organisation's name and we are extremely grateful for its continuing support."

Salcombe's Tamar is the second to go on station in the South West of England. The first is based at Padstow.

The RNLI's Tamar class lifeboats are fitted out at Babcock Marine in Plymouth.