A ship's tender, usually referred to as a tender, is a boat or ship used to service or support other boats or ships. This is generally done by transporting people or supplies to and from shore or another ship.
Donau, an Elbe-class tender of the German Navy
Lifeboat tender of MS Oosterdam; note the "face mask" over the front windows, and the rolled-up tarpaulin sheet that can be brought down over the entry port to make the boat weather resistant.
RIB tender of Prince William being winched aboard from a sortie on the North Sea
Caribbean Princess tenders docked at Bar Harbor, Maine, 31 August 2010
A lifeboat or liferaft is a small, rigid or inflatable boat carried for emergency evacuation in the event of a disaster aboard a ship. Lifeboat drills are required by law on larger commercial ships. Rafts (liferafts) are also used. In the military, a lifeboat may double as a whaleboat, dinghy, or gig. The ship's tenders of cruise ships often double as lifeboats. Recreational sailors usually carry inflatable liferafts, though a few prefer small proactive lifeboats that are harder to sink and can be sailed to safety.
Partially enclosed lifeboats on a passenger liner
Proactive lifeboat-safety dinghy for recreational cruisers
Lifeboats at shore shortly after the Costa Concordia capsized on the coast of Isola del Giglio
An image depicting the sinking of RMS Titanic surrounded by lifeboats
