A new Taranaki Coastguard boat will be able to respond more rapidly to emergencies than its predecessor.
The $1.2 million boat, which took two years of fundraising to buy, arrived at Port Taranaki to replace a 40-year-old vessel.
Coastguard Taranaki president Graham Cowling says the new boat takes 90 minutes to get from the port to Mokau, compared with five hours for the old boat.
He says it will be able to respond faster to emergencies on the rugged coast from Raglan to Whanganui and will be more economical to run.
Last year, 14 people had to be rescued by the Coastguard in the area.
