FEATURE
Sea legs – Nathan Hobday launched marine services firm , Red Lion Marine , in 2017 .
MAKING WAVES
Red Lion Marine is roaring across the Tees
PICTURES : TOM BANKS WORDS : ADAM STEEL
A
lifelong love of the sea and enterprising free spirit has been transformed into a growing “ hobby job ” and business by Nathan Hobday .
For the proud Redcar lad ’ s marine services company , Red Lion Marine , is currently making waves on the River Tees .
Nathan took a plunge in 2017 , pooling his resources and vast career experience into establishing the business .
From an initial £ 20,000 investment , the 30-year-old bought his first workboat , the RLM Luff Way , painstakingly converting it into a comfortable safety and standby vessel and working platform .
Navigate ahead to 2023 , and after a lot of hard work and lessons learned , he now has a three-strong fleet of multipurpose workboats moored on the River Tees at Haverton Hill .
Add in a core of knowledgeable and seasoned staff , a range of contracts and
Investment - RLM Cerberus is Red Lion Marine ’ s latest addition to the fleet .
142 | Tees Business ad hoc work , and a projected six-figureplus turnover , things are going quite swimmingly for Red Lion Marine .
“ I heard a phrase years ago that stuck with me – roll the dice . Red Lion is a product of that and all my years on the river ,” operations manager Nathan explains .
“ I grew up on Redcar seafront , have always loved the sea , and when I first started as a 17-year-old deckhand on pilot boats before working my way up , I used to hear all of these little boat owners say they were going to certain places to do their work .
“ I used to look at them and think : ‘ How good is that ?’
“ Never did I think I would be at a level to match that , but I ’ ve always had the attitude of wanting to do things myself , and always loved getting up early and going to work on the water .
“ So there is a sense of pride that now our boats are going out and doing all that work that I looked at when I was a very junior riverman .
“ Things are going all right , but you have to stay humble . But the good thing is that , with the fleet we have , nothing is off the cards for us really , boat-work wise , and we ’ re always looking at new revenue streams .”
Red Lion Marine ’ s fleet also comprises rigid inflatable boat RLM Alpha , a versatile 5.8m craft often used as a fast rescue vessel within harbour limits , which can also be coded for sea-going duties .
RLM Cerberus is the latest addition to the fleet , boasting a multiple-use open deck with over a ton of load capacity , capable of taking 12 passengers offshore .
It means the work undertaken by Red Lion Marine is broad-ranging , from “ supporting major infrastructure construction projects on the River ” says Nathan , to being the preferred vessel supplier to support media coverage for this summer ’ s Hartlepool Tall Ships races .
And Nathan acknowledges none of it would be possible without his whole team of loyal staff which can rise to 34 members , including main skipper Paul Slimmings , Redcar Lifeboat Station colleague Mike Picknett and retired firefighter , and now part-time Red Lion yard manager , Gordon Young .
“ They know what they are doing and get on with things to such an extent that I rarely go on the water myself these days ,” he said .
“ They also keep me grounded and tell me what is and isn ’ t possible .”
When it comes to the future of Red Lion Marine , Nathan is excited , believing the business can grow as Teesport continues to develop .
“ Right now , the River Tees means opportunity to me ,” Nathan adds .
“ There ’ s exciting times on the Tees and at Teesport moving forward .”
Visit redlionmarine . com