Ambrose Light, often called Ambrose Tower, was the light station at the convergence of several major shipping lanes in

Lower New York Bay Lower New York Bay is a section of New York Bay south of the Narrows (the strait between Staten Island and Brooklyn). The eastern end of the Bay is marked by two spits of land, Sandy Hook, New Jersey, and Rockaway, Queens. The waterway b ...

, including

Ambrose Channel Ambrose Channel is the only shipping channel in and out of the Port of New York and New Jersey. The channel is considered to be part of Lower New York Bay and is located several miles off the coasts of Sandy Hook, New Jersey, and Breezy Point, ...

, the primary passage for ships entering and departing the

Port of New York and New Jersey The Port of New York and New Jersey is the port district of the New York-Newark metropolitan area, encompassing the region within approximately a radius of the Statue of Liberty National Monument. It includes the system of navigable water ...

. The tower, which was owned and maintained by the

United States Coast Guard The United States Coast Guard (USCG) is the maritime security, search and rescue, and law enforcement service branch of the United States Armed Forces and one of the country's eight uniformed services. The service is a maritime, military, mult ...

, was located at . On July 25, 2008, the Coast Guard announced that Ambrose Light, which was severely damaged when a tanker struck it on November 3, 2007, would be dismantled. The removal work was done by Costello Dismantling Co. in September 2008. The tugboats ''Sea Wolf'', ''Sea Bear'' and ''Miss Yvette'' assisted. The Coast Guard has replaced the light with flashing buoys.

History

Various lightships held this station from 1823 until its replacement in 1967. The original was only the fourth lightship designed and commissioned to serve a U.S. coastal port. One of these, ''

Lightship Ambrose Lightship ''Ambrose'' was the name given to multiple lightships that served as the sentinel beacon marking Ambrose Channel, New York Harbor's main shipping channel. The first lightstation was established south of the Ambrose Channel off of Sa ...

'' (built 1908) is now a museum in New York City. The original light station was put into operation on August 23, 1967, replacing the obsolete ''

'', and cost $2.4 million. The tower design was a Texas Tower, a very strong steel pipe structure based on the

oil platform An oil platform (or oil rig, offshore platform, oil production platform, and similar terms) is a large structure with facilities to extract and process petroleum and natural gas that lie in rock formations beneath the seabed. Many oil platfor ...

s built for use in the

Gulf of Mexico The Gulf of Mexico ( es, Golfo de México) is an oceanic basin, ocean basin and a marginal sea of the Atlantic Ocean, largely surrounded by the North American continent. It is bounded on the northeast, north and northwest by the Gulf Coast of ...

. The structure was prefabricated in

Norfolk, Virginia Norfolk ( ) is an independent city in the Commonwealth of Virginia in the United States. Incorporated in 1705, it had a population of 238,005 at the 2020 census, making it the third-most populous city in Virginia after neighboring Virginia Be ...

and shipped in sections on barges for assembly on-site. The tower station was about off the coast of

Sandy Hook, New Jersey Sandy Hook is a barrier spit in Middletown Township, Monmouth County, New Jersey, United States. The barrier spit, approximately in length and varying from wide, is located at the north end of the Jersey Shore. It encloses the southern en ...

in about of water and was supported by four steel pipes, sunk down about to bedrock. The light was about above mean low water and the 10,000,000 candle-power light could be seen for . The lower deck was designed for fuel and water storage while the top deck was living quarters for a 6 to 9 man crew. The roof of the platform served as a flight deck for helicopters, the main mode of transport to the station for crew rotations. The tower was automated and the crew was removed from duty on October 15, 1988. Ambrose light station was controlled electronically by the

station on Governors Island until the island and base were transferred to New York State and City for $1 in 2003. On a clear night in October 1996 the Greek oil tanker ''Aegeo'' struck the tower, causing severe damage. Coast Guard Lighthouse Technicians verified that the light was functioning properly when the tanker hit the tower. The ''Aegeo's'' captain was later found to be at fault. Three years later, in September 1999 after repairs were deemed insufficient, the old structure was razed by the

U.S. Army Corps of Engineers , colors = , anniversaries = 16 June (Organization Day) , battles = , battles_label = Wars , website = , commander1 = ...

and replaced with a new tower. The new tower was built about east of the old site, and was approximately above mean low water, and the 60,000 candle-power light was visible for . In January 2001, the Maltese freighter ''Kouros V'' struck the new tower. The tower suffered extensive damage, and the light was rendered inoperable. A temporary lighted buoy was set by the Coast Guard on November 7. On November 3, 2007, the Bahamas-Registered Tankship M/T ''Axel Spirit'' struck the tower. This time, Ambrose Light was damaged beyond repair. On July 25, 2008, the Coast Guard announced the dismantlement of Ambrose Light would begin on July 28, 2008. The tower carried NOAA's National Data Buoy Center automated weather station ALSN6, which was of interest to

scuba diver Scuba diving is a mode of underwater diving whereby divers use breathing equipment that is completely independent of a surface air supply. The name "scuba", an acronym for "Self-Contained Underwater Breathing Apparatus", was coined by Chris ...

s, fishermen, and other small craft users. The tower was a staging point for pilot ships, notably the Sandy Hook Pilots.Sandy Hook Pilots website

References

Notes Sources
Lighthouse Depot
- Reference article * - Ambrose Light is listed as number 720 *
U.S. Coast Guard
- Information on lightships
National Data Buoy Center
- Station ALSN6 - Ambrose Light
Approaches to New York Harbor
NOAA Chart 12326 online.

External links

Lighthouse Depot
- Story about destruction of original structure

- About lightships, including ''Ambrose Lightship''
South Street Seaport Museum
- Current location of the ''Ambrose Lightship''

- Information, charts, and history of Ambrose light station {{authority control Lighthouses completed in 1967 Towers completed in 1967 Lighthouses completed in 1999 Towers completed in 1999 Lighthouses in New York City Transportation buildings and structures in Queens, New York Government buildings in Queens, New York 1967 establishments in New York (state) 1967 establishments in New York City