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Lighthouse Board News

23 Oct 2023

Gondan Cuts First Steel for New Northern Lighthouse Board Vessel

(Photo: GONDAN Shipbuilders)

Spain's GONDAN Shipbuilders announced it held a steel cutting ceremony marking the start of construction on a new vessel it is building for the Northern Lighthouse Board (NLB), a non-departmental public body responsible for marine navigation aids around coastal areas for Scotland and the Isle of Man.The NLB, which has been responsible for the management of lights, buoys and beacons in the region since 1786, plays an essential role in safe navigation.The new hybrid-powered vessel…

13 Dec 2022

Gondán to Build Hybrid Buoy Tender for Scotland

(Image: Northern Lighthouse Board)

The Northern Lighthouse Board (NLB), the General Lighthouse Authority for Scotland and the Isle of Man announced the award of a £51.8 million contract to Spanish shipyard Astilleros Gondán S.A, for the build of a hybrid powered buoy tender vessel to support its vital safety service to mariners.The tender includes a commitment to place over £2 million of contracts with U.K. suppliers with a requirement for any contract over £25,000 to be advertised in the U.K. As part of the deal Gondán will also create a special fully funded internship program for up to 15 U.K.

10 Jun 2015

Kalmar Delivers ASC cranes for TraPac in Los Angeles

Kalmar, part of Cargotec, has received an order from TraPac, Inc. to deliver two new 5th generation Kalmar automatic stacking cranes (ASCs) for the expansion of TraPac's automated terminal in Los Angeles. The cranes will join a fleet of 27 Kalmar ASCs and 28 Kalmar automated straddle carriers managed by the Kalmar TLS equipment control system. The new ASCs will be delivered in 2016 and they are expected to be commissioned by the end of 2016. Troy Thompson, Vice President, Ports and Terminals, at Kalmar Americas, commented, "Our partnership with TraPac has led to the development of the 5th generation Kalmar ASC, which combines together all the experience gained during the first phase of the project.

16 Oct 2014

Donohoe Welcomes Ships’ Light Dues Arrangements

Minister for Transport, Tourism and Sport Paschal Donohoe T.D., announced today that he has agreed arrangements with his U.K. counterpart, Minister John Hayes MP, for light dues paid by ships coming into ports in Ireland and the United Kingdom from April 2015. Light dues fund the Aids to Navigation (lighthouses, buoys, beacons and radio aids) operated by the Commissioners of Irish Lights (CIL) in Ireland, and by Trinity House and the Northern Lighthouse Board in the U.K. The three lighthouse authorities, their integrated working arrangements and the single operating system for light dues represents a long standing cooperation between Ireland and the United Kingdom. A joint Ireland-U.K.

28 May 2014

Imtech Wins Northern Lighthouse VSAT Contract

'The Pole Star, one of the vessels of the Northern Lighthouse Board'

Remote monitoring enables early detection of problems and correction of system faults. Imtech Marine has been awarded a three-year contract by Northern Lighthouse Board to provide VSAT systems with connectivity and value added services. The contract also includes maintenance services for the five vessels operated by Northern Lighthouse Board and Trinity House in the U.K. The five vessels maintain safe shipping lanes around the Scottish and English sectors of the British Isles coastline.

13 Mar 2014

ACCSEAS Places North Sea E-Navigation on the Radar

Dr. Alwyn Williams, ACCSEAS Project Manager, at the ACCSEAS Second Annual Conference

ACCSEAS, an EU-funded project to support improved maritime access to the North Sea Region through minimizing navigational risk, welcomed over 80 regional and international shipping experts to Edinburgh for its second annual conference, held last week. The ACCSEAS Conference presented an array of e-Navigation test-bed solutions, all of which are aimed at increasing accessibility and improving navigational safety in the increasingly busy shipping waters of the North Sea Region.

13 Jan 2014

Aids to Navigation GLA 2015 Review: Mariner Input Sought

Image courtesy of Trinity House

The General Lighthouse Authorities (GLA) will be undertaking a review of Aids to Navigation provision around the coasts of Ireland and Great Britain during 2014. The GLA consider good quality user input to be an essential component of this review. The Safety of Life at Sea (SOLAS) Convention requires the provision of “such aids to navigation as the volume of traffic justifies and the degree of risk requires”. The 2015 review will consider all AtoN provided by the GLA on the coasts of Ireland and Great Britain both individually and as AtoN systems.

27 Nov 2013

What About Maritime Safety if Scotland Chooses Independence?

Scots flag: Image couresy of Maritime UK

In response to the Scottish Government's release of the 2014 pre-referrendum White Paper 'Scotland Future', shipping organization Maritime UK members suggest that the publication raises as many questions as it does answers. Maritime UK members have had constructive engagement with the Scottish Government in recent months, but today’s White Paper provides some interesting nuggets – raising as many questions as it does answers. In particular, they note this extract hidden away on page 418.

14 Oct 2013

UK Chamber of Shipping Appoint New CEO

Guy Platten: Photo UK Chamber

The UK Chamber of Shipping's new Chief Executive, due to start in January 2014, will be Guy Platten, currently Chief Executive of Caledonian Maritime Assets Ltd (CMAL). Guy Platten is a master mariner with a long background in the marine industry – including serving as a deck officer in the Merchant Navy, an Inspector of Lifeboats for the RNLI, Salvage and Mooring Officer with the Ministry of Defence and as Director of Marine Operations with the Northern Lighthouse Board. In his role as Chief Executive of Caledonian Maritime Assets Ltd…

03 Mar 2011

This Day in U.S. Coast Guard History - March 3

1819-  Congress authorized the revenue cutters to protect merchant vessels of United States against piracy and to seize vessels engaged in slave trade. The cutters Louisiana andAlabama were built shortly thereafter to assist in the government's efforts against piracy. 1837- An Act of Congress (5 Stat. L., 181, 185) laid down certain restrictions, by providing that the construction of the large number of new lighthouses, lightships, etc., for which this law was appropriating the necessary funds, would not be begun until examined by Board of Navy Commissioners. They reported to Congress those cases where the "navigation is so inconsiderable as not to justify the proposed works." The Navy detailed 22 officers to this duty and…

02 Mar 2011

This Day in U.S. Coast Guard History - March 2

1799- Congress authorized revenue cutter officers to board all ships of the United States within four leagues of the U.S., if bound for the U.S. and then search and examine them, certifying manifest, sealing hatches and remaining on board until they arrived in port. They were also authorized to search ships of other nations in United States' waters and "perform such other duties for the collection and security of the Revenue" as directed by the Secretary of the Treasury. 1799- Congress authorized cutters and boats to be "distinguished from other vessels by an ensign and pendant" with the marks thereon prescribed by the President of the United States…

02 Feb 2011

Inchcape Shipping: Bell Rock Lighthouse Bicentenary

Image of the Bell Rock Lighthouse attached (acknowledgements to Ian Cowe)

Eleven miles off the coast of Arbroath in Scotland, the Bell Rock Lighthouse, standing on the Inchcape Reef, has withstood two centuries of vicious storms and powerful North Sea surges to safely guide ships away from the dangers beneath. The Feb. 1 marked the 200th anniversary of the lighting of the beacon and sponsored by Inchcape Shipping Services, the anniversary will be celebrated with a series of events in Edinburgh, Arbroath and beyond. HRH The Princess Royal, patron of the Northern Lighthouse Board…

30 Aug 2010

This Day in Coast Guard History – August 31

1819-The cutters Alabama and Louisiana captured the privateer Bravo in the Gulf of Mexico.  The Bravo's master, Jean Le Farges -- a lieutenant of Jean Lafitte -- was later hanged from the Louisiana's yardarm.  The cutters then sailed for Patterson's Town on Breton Island to destroy the notorious pirates' den there. 1852-The Lighthouse Board was created and charged with administering the Lighthouse Service, as the Revenue Cutter Service was again decentralized.  The board was comprised of Army and Navy officers, and civilian scientists.  Channel marking and light operation acquired scientific precision and engineering.  Classical lenses and lateral buoy systems were introduced.  (Source: USCG Historian’s Office)

23 Aug 2010

This Day in Coast Guard History – August 23

1820-The Revenue Cutter Louisiana captured four pirate vessels. 1893-"This was the first instance in the history of the United States Light-House Establishment in which a light-ship has foundered at her moorings," reported the Lighthouse Board, when Lightship No. 37 was lost in rough seas at her station at Five Fathom Bank off the entrance to Delaware Bay. Four of her six crew were lost in the tragedy. 1979- The keel of the first of the new 270-foot class medium endurance cutters, the CGC Bear, was laid at the Tacoma Boatbuilding Company in Tacoma, Washington. 1993- The CGC Yocona hosted the Russian icebreaker Aisberg for the first ever joint Russian-U.S. search and rescue exercise.

14 Jul 2010

This Day in Coast Guard History – July 15

1870- Congress directed that the revenue cutters on the northern and northwestern lakes, when commissioned, shall be specially charged with aiding vessels in distress on the lakes. 1870- An Act of Congress (l6 Stat. L., 291, 309) directed the Lighthouse Board to mark all pierheads belonging to the United States situated on the northern and northwestern lakes, as soon as it was notified that the construction or repair of pierheads had been completed. 1972-CGC Absecon was decommissioned and transferred to the South Vietnamese Navy. This was the last of the seven 311-foot Casco-class cutters to be transferred to the South Vietnamese. She was commissioned as the Tham Ngu Lao (HQ-15) on 15 July 1972. She was seized by the North Vietnamese when the South fell in 1975.

16 Jun 2010

This Day in Coast Guard History – June 17

1832- The practice of utilizing "surplus" naval officers as officers of the Revenue Marine was discontinued. Revenue officer vacancies were henceforth filled by promotion from within the service. 1910-An Act of Congress (36 Stat. L., 534) abolished the Lighthouse Board and created the Bureau of Lighthouses to have complete charge of the Lighthouse Service. This law constituted the organic act under which the Lighthouse Service operated thereafter. 1942-Commander-in-Chief, U.S. Fleet ordered the organization of coastal pickets to combat submarine menace of Atlantic Coast. 1983- National Narcotics Border Interdiction System (NNBIS) began operations under the direction of Vice President George Bush and the executive board consisting of Secretaries of State…

14 May 2010

This Day in Coast Guard History – May 14

1908-An Act of Congress (35 Stat. L., 160, 162) delegated to the Lighthouse Board the duty of caring for and maintaining the anchorage buoys previously placed by the United States in the harbors of New York and Philadelphia. 1951- USS Valcour was rammed by the collier Thomas Tracy. CGC Cherokee responded and assisted in extinguishing the resulting fires and towed the Valcour to Norfolk. Thirty-seven Navy sailors perished. 1997- The 757-foot containership Ever Grade collided with CGC Cowslip 10 miles upriver from the mouth of the Columbia River near Astoria, Oregon. The buoy tender suffered significant damage from a glancing blow along her port side. Visibility at the time was less than 20 yards due to thick fog in the area. The Cowslip was repaired and returned to service.

28 Mar 2010

This Day in Coast Guard History – March 29

1867-The lighthouse at Timbalier Bay was destroyed in a hurricane. The brick tower "was leveled to the ground and covered with from three to six feet of water."  The Lighthouse Board commended the keepers, "who faithfully performed their duty, barely escaping with their lives, and living for some days in an iron can buoy . 1898-  Lieutenants David Jarvis and Ellsworth P. Bertholf and Surgeon Dr. Samuel J. Call of the USRC Bear reached Point Barrow, Alaska, after a 2,000 mile "mush" from Nunivak Island that first started on 17 December 1897, driving reindeer as food for 97 starving whalers caught in the Arctic ice. This Overland Rescue was heralded by the press and at the request of President William McKinley, Congress issued special gold medals in their honor.

03 Mar 2010

This Day in Coast Guard History – March 3

1819-  Congress authorized the revenue cutters to protect merchant vessels of United States against piracy and to seize vessels engaged in slave trade. The cutters Louisiana and Alabama were built shortly thereafter to assist in the government's efforts against piracy. 1837- An Act of Congress (5 Stat. L., 181, 185) laid down certain restrictions, by providing that the construction of the large number of new lighthouses, lightships, etc., for which this law was appropriating the necessary funds, would not be begun until examined by Board of Navy Commissioners. They reported to Congress those cases where the "navigation is so inconsiderable as not to justify the proposed works." The Navy detailed 22 officers to this duty and…

02 Mar 2010

This Day in Coast Guard History – March 2

1799- Congress authorized revenue cutter officers to board all ships of the United States within four leagues of the U.S., if bound for the U.S. and then search and examine them, certifying manifest, sealing hatches and remaining on board until they arrived in port. They were also authorized to search ships of other nations in United States' waters and "perform such other duties for the collection and security of the Revenue" as directed by the Secretary of the Treasury. 1799- Congress authorized cutters and boats to be "distinguished from other vessels by an ensign and pendant" with the marks thereon prescribed by the President of the United States…