![Elbe 1 - Bürgermeister O´Swald II -- Ystad-2017](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/9/9a/Elbe_1_-_B%C3%BCrgermeister_O%C2%B4Swald_II_--_Ystad-2017.jpg)
A lightvessel, or lightship, is a
ship
A ship is a large watercraft that travels the world's oceans and other sufficiently deep waterways, carrying cargo or passengers, or in support of specialized missions, such as defense, research, and fishing. Ships are generally distinguished ...
that acts as a
lighthouse
A lighthouse is a tower, building, or other type of physical structure designed to emit light from a system of lamps and lenses and to serve as a beacon for navigational aid, for maritime pilots at sea or on inland waterways.
Lighthouses mar ...
. They are used in waters that are too deep or otherwise unsuitable for
lighthouse
A lighthouse is a tower, building, or other type of physical structure designed to emit light from a system of lamps and lenses and to serve as a beacon for navigational aid, for maritime pilots at sea or on inland waterways.
Lighthouses mar ...
construction.
Although some records exist of fire beacons being placed on ships in Roman times, the first modern lightvessel was off the
Nore
The Nore is a long bank of sand and silt running along the south-centre of the final narrowing of the Thames Estuary, England. Its south-west is the very narrow Nore Sand. Just short of the Nore's easternmost point where it fades into the cha ...
sandbank at the mouth of the
River Thames
The River Thames ( ), known alternatively in parts as the The Isis, River Isis, is a river that flows through southern England including London. At , it is the longest river entirely in England and the Longest rivers of the United Kingdom, se ...
in England, placed there by its inventor Robert Hamblin in 1734. The type has become largely obsolete; lighthouses replaced some stations as the construction techniques for lighthouses advanced, while large, automated
buoy
A buoy () is a floating device that can have many purposes. It can be anchored (stationary) or allowed to drift with ocean currents.
Types
Navigational buoys
* Race course marker buoys are used for buoy racing, the most prevalent form of yac ...
s replaced others.
Construction
A crucial element of lightvessel design is the mounting of a light on a sufficiently tall
mast. Initially, it consisted of oil lamps that could be run up the mast and lowered for servicing. Later vessels carried fixed lamps which were serviced in place.
Fresnel lens
A Fresnel lens ( ; ; or ) is a type of composite compact lens developed by the French physicist Augustin-Jean Fresnel (1788–1827) for use in lighthouses. It has been called "the invention that saved a million ships."
The design allows the c ...
es were used as they became available, and many vessels housed them in small versions of the lanterns used in lighthouses. Some lightships had two masts, the second holding a reserve beacon in case the main light failed.
Initially, the
hulls were constructed of wood, with lines like those of other small merchant ships. This proved unsatisfactory for a ship that was permanently anchored, and the shape of the hull evolved to reduce rolling and pounding. As iron and steel were used in other ships, so were they used in lightvessels, and the advent of steam and diesel power led to self-propelled and electrically lighted designs. Earlier vessels had to be towed to and from their positions.
Much of the rest of the ship was taken up by storage (for oil and other supplies) and crew accommodations. The crew's primary duty was, of course, to maintain the light; but they also kept records of passing ships, observed the weather, and sometimes performed rescues.
In the early 20th century, some lightships were fitted with warning bells, either mounted on the structure or lowered into the water, the purpose of which was to warn of danger in poor visibility and to permit crude estimation of the lightship relative to the approaching vessel. Tests conducted by
Trinity House
"Three In One"
, formation =
, founding_location = Deptford, London, England
, status = Royal Charter corporation and registered charity
, purpose = Maintenance of lighthouses, buoys and beacons
, he ...
found that sound from a bell submerged some could be heard at a distance of , with a practical range in operational conditions of .
Mooring
Holding the vessel in position was an important aspect of lightvessel engineering. Early lightships used
fluke anchors, which are still in use on many contemporary vessels. These were not very satisfactory, since a lightship has to remain stationary in very rough seas which other vessels can avoid, and these anchors are prone to dragging.
Since the early 19th century, lightships have used
mushroom anchors, named for their shape, which typically weigh 3-4 tons. They were invented by
Robert Stevenson Robert Stevenson may refer to:
* Robert Stevenson (actor and politician) (1915–1975), American actor and politician
* Robert Stevenson (civil engineer) (1772–1850), Scottish lighthouse engineer
* Robert Stevenson (director) (1905–1986), Engl ...
. The first lightvessel equipped with one was an 82-ton converted fishing boat, renamed ''Pharos'', which entered service on 15 September 1807 near to
Bell Rock, and had a 1.5 ton anchor. The effectiveness of these anchors improved dramatically in the 1820s, when cast iron anchor
chain
A chain is a serial assembly of connected pieces, called links, typically made of metal, with an overall character similar to that of a rope in that it is flexible and curved in compression but linear, rigid, and load-bearing in tension. A c ...
s were introduced (the
rule of thumb
In English, the phrase ''rule of thumb'' refers to an approximate method for doing something, based on practical experience rather than theory. This usage of the phrase can be traced back to the 17th century and has been associated with various t ...
being 6 feet of chain for every foot depth of water).
Appearance
As well as the light, which operated in the fog and also at night, from one hour before sunset to one hour after sunrise, early lightvessels were equipped with red (or very occasionally white) day markers at the tops of masts, which were the first objects seen from an approaching ship. The designs varied, filled circles or globes, and pairs of inverted cones being the most common among them.
![Huron Lightship early career](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/0/02/Huron_Lightship_early_career.jpg)
Later lightships, for purposes of visibility, normally had bright red hulls which displayed the name of the station in white, upper-case letters; relief light vessels displayed the word RELIEF instead. A few ships had differently coloured hulls. For example, the
Huron Lightship
Huron may refer to:
People
* Wyandot people (or Wendat), indigenous to North America
* Wyandot language, spoken by them
* Huron-Wendat Nation, a Huron-Wendat First Nation with a community in Wendake, Quebec
* Nottawaseppi Huron Band of Potawatom ...
was painted black since she was assigned the black buoy side of the entrance to the Lake Huron Cut. The lightvessel that operated at
Minots Ledge
Minot's Ledge, also known as the Cohasset Rocks, is a reef off the harbor of Cohasset, Massachusetts, 15 miles (24 kilometers) southeast of Boston
Boston (), officially the City of Boston, is the state capital and most populous city of ...
,
Cohasset,
, from 1854 until 1860 had a light yellow hull to make it visible against the blue-green seas and the green hills behind it.
Lightvessel service
British lightships
David Avery and Robert Hamblin in 1731 placed the earliest British lightship at
The Nore
The Nore is a long bank of sand and silt running along the south-centre of the final narrowing of the Thames Estuary, England. Its south-west is the very narrow Nore Sand. Just short of the Nore's easternmost point where it fades into the cha ...
near the mouth of the
River Thames
The River Thames ( ), known alternatively in parts as the The Isis, River Isis, is a river that flows through southern England including London. At , it is the longest river entirely in England and the Longest rivers of the United Kingdom, se ...
. This was a private venture that operated profitably and without the need for government enforcement of payment for lighting services.
Further vessels were placed off
Norfolk
Norfolk () is a ceremonial and non-metropolitan county in East Anglia in England. It borders Lincolnshire to the north-west, Cambridgeshire to the west and south-west, and Suffolk to the south. Its northern and eastern boundaries are the No ...
in 1736, at
Owers Bank
Cymenshore is a place in Southern England where, according to the '' Anglo-Saxon Chronicle'', Ælle of Sussex landed in AD 477 and battled the Britons with his three sons Cymen, Wlencing and Cissa, after the first of whom Cymenshore was held to ...
in
Sussex
Sussex (), from the Old English (), is a historic county in South East England that was formerly an independent medieval Anglo-Saxon kingdom. It is bounded to the west by Hampshire, north by Surrey, northeast by Kent, south by the English ...
in 1788, and at the
Goodwin Sands
Goodwin Sands is a sandbank at the southern end of the North Sea lying off the Deal coast in Kent, England. The area consists of a layer of approximately depth of fine sand resting on an Upper Chalk platform belonging to the same geologi ...
in 1793.
Over time,
Trinity House
"Three In One"
, formation =
, founding_location = Deptford, London, England
, status = Royal Charter corporation and registered charity
, purpose = Maintenance of lighthouses, buoys and beacons
, he ...
, the public authority charged with establishing and maintaining lighthouses in England and Wales, crowded out the private light vessels. Trinity House is now responsible for all the remaining lightvessels England and Wales, of which there are currently eight unmanned lightvessels and two smaller
light float
A light float is a type of lighted navigational aid forming an intermediate class between lightvessels and large lighted buoys
A buoy () is a floating device that can have many purposes. It can be anchored (stationary) or allowed to drift w ...
s.
[Aids to Navigation]
, Trinity House
"Three In One"
, formation =
, founding_location = Deptford, London, England
, status = Royal Charter corporation and registered charity
, purpose = Maintenance of lighthouses, buoys and beacons
, he ...
, accessed 02-09-08
In the 1930s, "crewless lightships" were proposed as a way to operate a light vessel for six to twelve months without a crew.
The first lightvessel conversion to
solar power
Solar power is the conversion of energy from sunlight into electricity, either directly using photovoltaics (PV) or indirectly using concentrated solar power. Photovoltaic cells convert light into an electric current using the photovoltaic e ...
was made in 1995, and all vessels except the '20 class' have now been converted. The '20 class' is a slightly larger type of vessel that derives its power from diesel electric generators. Where a main light with a visible range in excess of 20 nautical miles (37 km) is required, a '20 class' vessel is used, as the main light from a Trinity House solar lightvessel has a maximum range of 19 nautical miles (35 km).
Hull numbers: 19, 22, 23 and 25 (the 20 class); 2, 5, 6, 7, 9, 10, 17 (solar lightvessels); and LF2 and LF3 (solar lightfloats).
American lightships
History
The first United States lightship was established at
Chesapeake Bay
The Chesapeake Bay ( ) is the largest estuary in the United States. The Bay is located in the Mid-Atlantic (United States), Mid-Atlantic region and is primarily separated from the Atlantic Ocean by the Delmarva Peninsula (including the parts: the ...
in 1820, and the total number around the coast peaked in 1909 with 56 locations marked. Of those ships, 168 were constructed by the
United States Lighthouse Service
The United States Lighthouse Service, also known as the Bureau of Lighthouses, was the agency of the United States Government and the general lighthouse authority for the United States from the time of its creation in 1910 as the successor of the ...
and six 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 ...
, which absorbed it in 1939. From 1820 until 1983, there were 179 lightships built for the U.S. government, and they were assigned to 116 separate light stations on four coasts (including the
Great Lakes
The Great Lakes, also called the Great Lakes of North America, are a series of large interconnected freshwater lakes in the mid-east region of North America that connect to the Atlantic Ocean via the Saint Lawrence River. There are five lakes ...
).
The first United States lightships were small wooden vessels with no propelling power. The first United States iron-hulled lightship was stationed at Merrill's Shell Bank, Louisiana, in 1847. Wood was still the preferred building material at the time because of lower cost and ability to withstand shock loading. Wooden lightships often survived more than 50 years in northern waters where the danger of rotting was reduced. Lightvessel 16 guarded Sandy Hook and
Ambrose
Ambrose of Milan ( la, Aurelius Ambrosius; ), venerated as Saint Ambrose, ; lmo, Sant Ambroeus . was a theologian and statesman who served as Bishop of Milan from 374 to 397. He expressed himself prominently as a public figure, fiercely promo ...
stations for more than 80 years; she had both an inner hull and an outer hull with the space between filled with salt to harden the wood and reduce decay. Several lightships built with composite wood and steel hulls in 1897 proved less durable than either wood or steel. The first modern steel lightship in United States service was lightvessel 44 built in 1882. One of the last United States wooden hulled lightships built, lightvessel 74, went into service at Portland, Maine, in 1902. The first United States lightships with steam engine propulsion were built in 1891 for service on the Great Lakes where seasonal ice required prompt evacuation of light stations to avoid destruction of the lightships.
[White, Richard D., Jr., LT USCG "Destination Nowhere - Twilight of the Lightship" ''United States Naval Institute Proceedings'' March 1976 pp.67-68]
The official use of lightships in the United States ended on March 29, 1985, when 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 ...
decommissioned its last such ship, the ''Nantucket I''. Many lightships were replaced with
Texas Towers
The Texas Towers were a set of three radar facilities off the eastern seaboard of the United States which were used for surveillance by the United States Air Force during the Cold War. Modeled on the offshore oil drilling platforms first employe ...
or
large navigational buoysboth of which are cheaper to operate than lightvessels. In fact, lighthouses often replaced lightships.
Naming and numbering
The naming and numbering of American lightships is often confusing. Up to and through the
Civil War
A civil war or intrastate war is a war between organized groups within the same state (or country).
The aim of one side may be to take control of the country or a region, to achieve independence for a region, or to change government policies ...
lightships were identified by name, usually that of the station where they served. As they were moved from station to station, however, the keeping of records became hopelessly tangled. Therefore, in 1867 all existing lightships were given numbers by which they would be permanently identified, and the station at which they were presently serving was painted on their sides, to be changed as needed. Lightships held in reserve to serve in place of those in dock for maintenance were labeled "RELIEF".
Surviving lightships are commonly taken to be named according to these labels, but for instance the "Lightship ''
Chesapeake Chesapeake often refers to:
*Chesapeake people, a Native American tribe also known as the Chesepian
* The Chesapeake, a.k.a. Chesapeake Bay
*Delmarva Peninsula, also known as the Chesapeake Peninsula
Chesapeake may also refer to:
Populated plac ...
''" actually served at two other stations as well as being used for examinations, and last served at the Delaware Light Station. In another case, the ''LV-114'' was labeled "NEW BEDFORD", though there has never been such a station. In an attempt to sort out the early lightships, they were assigned one or two letter designations sometime around 1930; these identifications do not appear in early records, and they are to some degree uncertain.
There are three different and overlapping series of hull numbers. The Lighthouse Service assigned numbers beginning with "LV-" and starting from 1; however, not all numbers were used. When the Coast Guard took over the lighthouse service, all existing lightships were renumbered with "WAL-" prefixes, beginning with "WAL-501". In 1965 they were renumbered again, this time with "WLV-"; however in this case the numbers given were not sequential. Given that only six vessels were constructed after the Coast Guard takeover, the "LV-" series numbers are most commonly used.
Surviving American lightships
It is estimated that there are 15 United States lightships left today. Among them:
* The
lightship Barnegat (LV-79) is moored in
Camden, New Jersey
Camden is a city in and the county seat of Camden County, in the U.S. state of New Jersey. Camden is part of the Delaware Valley metropolitan area and is located directly across the Delaware River from Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. At the 2020 ...
. She was the
lightship for Five Fathom Bank and
Barnegat, New Jersey
Barnegat Township is a township in Ocean County, New Jersey, United States. As of the 2010 United States Census the township's population was 20,936, reflecting an increase of 5,666 (+37.1%) from the 15,270 counted in the 2000 Census, which ha ...
.
* The
lightship Swiftsure (LV-83) is moored at
Northwest Seaport
Northwest Seaport Maritime Heritage Center is a nonprofit organization in Seattle, Washington dedicated to the preservation and interpretation of Puget Sound and Northwest Coast maritime heritage, expressed through educational programs and exper ...
in
Seattle, Washington
Seattle ( ) is a port, seaport city on the West Coast of the United States. It is the county seat, seat of King County, Washington, King County, Washington (state), Washington. With a 2020 population of 737,015, it is the largest city in bo ...
. She served at all five Pacific Coast lightship stations (Blunts Reef and San Francisco, California; and the Columbia River entrance, Umatilla Reef, and Swiftsure Bank, Washington).
* The
lightship Ambrose (LV-87) is moored at the
South Street Seaport Museum
The South Street Seaport is a historic area in the New York City borough of Manhattan, centered where Fulton Street meets the East River, and adjacent to the Financial District, in Lower Manhattan. The Seaport is a designated historic district, ...
in
New York City, New York
New York, often called New York City or NYC, is the List of United States cities by population, most populous city in the United States. With a 2020 population of 8,804,190 distributed over , New York City is also the L ...
.
* The
lightship Portsmouth (LV-101) is moored at the naval shipyard museum in
Portsmouth, Virginia
Portsmouth is an independent city in southeast Virginia and across the Elizabeth River from Norfolk. As of the 2020 census, the population was 97,915. It is part of the Hampton Roads metropolitan area.
The Norfolk Naval Shipyard and Naval M ...
. LV-101 was built in 1915 by Pusey & Jones. She first served at
Cape Charles, Virginia
Cape Charles is a town / municipal corporation in Northampton County, Virginia, United States. The population was 1,009 as of the 2010 United States Census, 2010 Census.
History
Cape Charles, located close to the mouth of the Chesapeake Bay, on ...
, then Relief,
Overfalls, Delaware, and
Stonehorse Shoal, Massachusetts. After being decommissioned, she was stored in
Portland, Maine
Portland is the largest city in the U.S. state of Maine and the seat of Cumberland County. Portland's population was 68,408 in April 2020. The Greater Portland metropolitan area is home to over half a million people, the 104th-largest metropol ...
, before being sold to the museum. Today LV-101 is dry docked and lettered as ''Portsmouth'', having never served there.
* The
lightship Huron (LV-103) is one of many that have plied the waters of the
Great Lakes
The Great Lakes, also called the Great Lakes of North America, are a series of large interconnected freshwater lakes in the mid-east region of North America that connect to the Atlantic Ocean via the Saint Lawrence River. There are five lakes ...
.
In 1832 the first Lightship on the
Great Lakes
The Great Lakes, also called the Great Lakes of North America, are a series of large interconnected freshwater lakes in the mid-east region of North America that connect to the Atlantic Ocean via the Saint Lawrence River. There are five lakes ...
—the
Lois McLain—was placed at Waugoshance Shoal. After 1940, the Huron was the last lightship on the
Great Lakes
The Great Lakes, also called the Great Lakes of North America, are a series of large interconnected freshwater lakes in the mid-east region of North America that connect to the Atlantic Ocean via the Saint Lawrence River. There are five lakes ...
. She was decommissioned in 1970 and grounded at
Port Huron, Michigan
Port Huron is a city in the U.S. state of Michigan and the county seat of St. Clair County. The population was 30,184 at the 2010 census. The city is adjacent to Port Huron Township but is administered separately.
Located along the St. Clair ...
as a museum. The smallest surviving lightship, she is now a museum and a representative of the 96 foot class.
* The lightship Winter Quarter (LV-107) is moored at Liberty Landing Marina in Jersey City, New Jersey. She serves as the office building for a sailing school.
* The
lightship Nantucket (LV-112) is moored in
Boston, Massachusetts.
* The
lightship Frying Pan (LV-115) is moored at Pier 66 in
New York City, New York
New York, often called New York City or NYC, is the List of United States cities by population, most populous city in the United States. With a 2020 population of 8,804,190 distributed over , New York City is also the L ...
.
* The
lightship Chesapeake (LV-116) is moored at
Historic Ships in Baltimore
Historic Ships in Baltimore, created as a result of the merger of the USS Constellation Museum and the Baltimore Maritime Museum, is a maritime museum located in the Inner Harbor of Baltimore, Maryland in the United States.
The museum's collecti ...
in
Baltimore, Maryland
Baltimore ( , locally: or ) is the List of municipalities in Maryland, most populous city in the U.S. state of Maryland, fourth most populous city in the Mid-Atlantic (United States), Mid-Atlantic, and List of United States cities by popula ...
.
* The
lightship Overfalls (LV-118) is moored in
Lewes, Delaware
Lewes ( ) is an incorporated city on the Delaware Bay in eastern Sussex County, Delaware, United States. According to the 2010 census, the population is 2,747. Along with neighboring Rehoboth Beach, Lewes is one of the principal cities of Delawar ...
. She has been painted for the "OVERFALLS" station, though she never served there.
* The
lightship Columbia (WLV-604) is moored at the
Columbia River Maritime Museum
The Columbia River Maritime Museum is a museum of maritime history in the northwest United States, located about southeast of the mouth of the Columbia River in Astoria, Oregon.
It has a national reputation for the quality of its exhibits a ...
in
Astoria, Oregon
Astoria is a port city and the seat of Clatsop County, Oregon, United States. Founded in 1811, Astoria is the oldest city in the state and was the first permanent American settlement west of the Rocky Mountains. The county is the northwest corne ...
. The first lightship on the Pacific Coast, she marked the entrance to the Columbia River.
* The
lightship Relief (WLV-605) is moored at Jack London Square in
Oakland, California
Oakland is the largest city and the county seat of Alameda County, California, United States. A major West Coast of the United States, West Coast port, Oakland is the largest city in the East Bay region of the San Francisco Bay Area, the third ...
.
* The
lightship Nantucket I (WLV-612) is moored in
New Bedford, Massachusetts
New Bedford (Massachusett language, Massachusett: ) is a city in Bristol County, Massachusetts, Bristol County, Massachusetts. It is located on the Acushnet River in what is known as the South Coast (Massachusetts), South Coast region. Up throug ...
. She operates as a floating hotel and events venue. Built in 1950 and operated at various stations from 1951 to 1983, she was designated ''Nantucket I'' in 1979 and rotated at the Nantucket station with the ''Nantucket II'' until 1983. She was the last American lightship to be decommissioned in 1985.
* The
lightship Nantucket II (WLV-613) is moored in
New Bedford, Massachusetts
New Bedford (Massachusett language, Massachusett: ) is a city in Bristol County, Massachusetts, Bristol County, Massachusetts. It is located on the Acushnet River in what is known as the South Coast (Massachusetts), South Coast region. Up throug ...
. She was the last lightship built in the United States and was laid down on February 4, 1952, at the Coast Guard Yard in
Curtis Bay, Maryland
Curtis Bay is a residential / commercial / industrial neighborhood in the southern portion of the City of Baltimore, Maryland, United States.
The neighborhood is on steep sloping heights, about four city blocks wide (west to east) and fifteen bloc ...
. She was launched six months later and placed in service in September of the same year. Her first assignment was to the Ambrose Shoals off New York City and served at that station until 1967. After brief service as a relief lightship, she was assigned as one of two Nantucket lightships and served at that station until replaced by a buoy on December 20, 1983. She was moored at the Wareham Shipyard in
Wareham, Massachusetts
Wareham ( ) is a town in Plymouth County, Massachusetts, United States. As of the 2020 census, the town had a population of 23,303.
History
Wareham was first settled in 1678 by Europeans as part of the towns of Plymouth, Massachusetts, Plymouth ...
from about 1990 until 2014.
German lightships
![FS3](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/c/c3/FS3.jpg)
There are currently three identical unmanned German lightvessels in service, named FS1, FS3 and FS4. The
initialism
An acronym is a word or name formed from the initial components of a longer name or phrase. Acronyms are usually formed from the initial letters of words, as in ''NATO'' (''North Atlantic Treaty Organization''), but sometimes use syllables, as ...
''FS'' is short for ''Feuerschiff'', which means ''lightvessel'' in German. Two of them are normally located at:
# German Bight (''GB'' in charts and notices, ''G—B'' on vessels)
# German Bight Western Approach (''GW/EMS'')
Both positions have the same characteristics:
* white
isophase light
A light characteristic is all of the properties that make a particular navigational light identifiable. Graphical and textual descriptions of navigational light sequences and colours are displayed on nautical charts and in Light Lists with the cha ...
with a cycle period of 8s at 12m elevation and a range of 17
nautical miles
A nautical mile is a unit of length used in air, marine, and space navigation, and for the definition of territorial waters. Historically, it was defined as the meridian arc length corresponding to one minute ( of a degree) of latitude. Today t ...
*
foghorn
A foghorn or fog signal is a device that uses sound to warn vehicles of navigational hazards such as rocky coastlines, or boats of the presence of other vessels, in foggy conditions. The term is most often used in relation to marine transport. W ...
with
morse code
Morse code is a method used in telecommunication to encode text characters as standardized sequences of two different signal durations, called ''dots'' and ''dashes'', or ''dits'' and ''dahs''. Morse code is named after Samuel Morse, one of ...
''R'' and 30s cycle period
*
radar beacon
Radar beacon (short: racon) is – according to ''article 1.103'' of the International Telecommunication Union's (ITU) ITU Radio Regulations (RR) – defined as "A transmitter-receiver associated with a fixed navigational mark which, when trig ...
with morse code ''T''
All three ships are operated by the
Waterways and Shipping Office Wilhelmshaven
Wilhelmshaven (, ''Wilhelm's Harbour''; Northern Low Saxon: ''Willemshaven'') is a coastal town in Lower Saxony, Germany. It is situated on the western side of the Jade Bight, a bay of the North Sea, and has a population of 76,089. Wilhelmsha ...
and can be seen in the harbour of Wilhelmshaven during maintenance.
Russian lightships
![Nekmangrund](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/d/d5/Nekmangrund.jpg)
In
Russia
Russia (, , ), or the Russian Federation, is a List of transcontinental countries, transcontinental country spanning Eastern Europe and North Asia, Northern Asia. It is the List of countries and dependencies by area, largest country in the ...
, lightships have been documented since the mid 19th century. The lightvessel service was subordinated to the
Russian Hydrographic Office
The Russian Hydrographic Service, full current official name Department of Navigation and Oceanography of the Ministry of Defence of the Russian Federation ( rus, Управление навигации и океанографии Министер ...
and most of the lightships under it were in the
Baltic Sea
The Baltic Sea is an arm of the Atlantic Ocean that is enclosed by Denmark, Estonia, Finland, Germany, Latvia, Lithuania, Poland, Russia, Sweden and the North and Central European Plain.
The sea stretches from 53°N to 66°N latitude and from ...
. In the early 1900s there were about ten lightships in the Russian sector of the Baltics. Among these the following may be mentioned:
''Yelaginsky'', located on the
Yelagin Channellater moved to the Petrovsky Channel and renamed, ''Nevsky'' in the middle of the main channel to
St. Petersburg
Saint Petersburg ( rus, links=no, Санкт-Петербург, a=Ru-Sankt Peterburg Leningrad Petrograd Piter.ogg, r=Sankt-Peterburg, p=ˈsankt pʲɪtʲɪrˈburk), formerly known as Petrograd (1914–1924) and later Leningrad (1924–1991), i ...
, and ''Londonsky'' on Londonsky Shoal off
Kotlin Island
Kotlin (russian: Ко́тлин) ( sv, Reitskär) is a Russian island, located near the head of the Gulf of Finland, west of Saint Petersburg in the Baltic Sea. Kotlin separates the Neva Bay from the rest of the gulf. The fortified city of Kronst ...
on the approach to
Kronstadt
Kronstadt (russian: Кроншта́дт, Kronshtadt ), also spelled Kronshtadt, Cronstadt or Kronštádt (from german: link=no, Krone for "crown" and ''Stadt'' for "city") is a Russian port city in Kronshtadtsky District of the federal city of ...
. Other Baltic lightships were located further to the West, with ''Werkommatala'' by
Primorsk (Koivisto) harbour, ''Lyserortsky'' at the entrance of the
Gulf of Finland
The Gulf of Finland ( fi, Suomenlahti; et, Soome laht; rus, Фи́нский зали́в, r=Finskiy zaliv, p=ˈfʲinskʲɪj zɐˈlʲif; sv, Finska viken) is the easternmost arm of the Baltic Sea. It extends between Finland to the north and E ...
, and ''Nekmangrund'' over the treacherous shoals off
Hiiumaa
Hiiumaa (, ) is the second largest island in Estonia and is part of the West Estonian archipelago, in the Baltic Sea. It has an area of 989 km2 and is 22 km from the Estonian mainland. Its largest town is Kärdla. It is located within H ...
Island's NW shore, known as
Hiiu Madal in
Estonian
Estonian may refer to:
* Something of, from, or related to Estonia, a country in the Baltic region in northern Europe
* Estonians, people from Estonia, or of Estonian descent
* Estonian language
* Estonian cuisine
* Estonian culture
See also ...
.
Another well-known lightship was ''
Irbensky'' of the
Soviet Union
The Soviet Union,. officially the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics. (USSR),. was a transcontinental country that spanned much of Eurasia from 1922 to 1991. A flagship communist state, it was nominally a federal union of fifteen national ...
era. It was the next-to-last Russian lightship. Having been located in the Baltic in the 1980s, it was briefly renamed ''Ventspilssky'' while serving near
Ventspils
Ventspils (; german: Windau, ; see other names) is a state city in northwestern Latvia in the historical Courland region of Latvia, and is the sixth largest city in the country. At the beginning of 2020, Ventspils had a population of 33,906. It ...
port in the
Latvian Socialist Soviet Republic
The Latvian Socialist Soviet Republic ( lv, Latvijas Sociālistiskā Padomju Republika, LSPR) was a short-lived socialist republic formed during the Latvian War of Independence. It was proclaimed on 17 December 1918 with the political, economi ...
.
The last Russian lightvessel in service was ''Astrakhansky-priyomniy'', of the same class as Irbensky. Until 1997 she was marking the deepwater channel leading to
Astrakhan
Astrakhan ( rus, Астрахань, p=ˈastrəxənʲ) is the largest city and administrative centre of Astrakhan Oblast in Southern Russia. The city lies on two banks of the Volga, in the upper part of the Volga Delta, on eleven islands of the ...
harbour while it was doing service in the
Caspian Sea
The Caspian Sea is the world's largest inland body of water, often described as the world's largest lake or a full-fledged sea. An endorheic basin, it lies between Europe and Asia; east of the Caucasus, west of the broad steppe of Central Asia ...
.
Other countries
![Lightship CLS4](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/5/55/Lightship_CLS4_%22Carpentaria%22_%287854156048%29.jpg)
*The Australian lightship
''Carpentaria'', an unmanned lightvessel (effectively a floating lighthouse) built during 1916–17 in Sydney, operated in the
Gulf of Carpentaria
The Gulf of Carpentaria (, ) is a large, shallow sea enclosed on three sides by northern Australia and bounded on the north by the eastern Arafura Sea (the body of water that lies between Australia and New Guinea). The northern boundary is ...
, off
Sandy Cape, Queensland, and in the
Bass Strait
Bass Strait () is a strait separating the island state of Tasmania from the Australian mainland (more specifically the coast of Victoria, with the exception of the land border across Boundary Islet). The strait provides the most direct waterwa ...
. After her career ended in 1985, she was donated to the
Australian National Maritime Museum
The Australian National Maritime Museum (ANMM) is a Australian government, federally operated maritime museum in Darling Harbour, Sydney. After considering the idea of establishing a maritime museum, the federal government announced that a nation ...
in 1987 for preservation.
Lost lightships
Because lightvessels must remain anchored in specific positions for the majority of their time at sea, they are more at risk of damage or destruction. Many lightships have been lost in hurricanes.
;United States
* Lightship No. 85 (135 feet long, weighing 683 tons), lies sunk since 1997 in a shallow section of
New York Harbor
New York Harbor is at the mouth of the Hudson River where it empties into New York Bay near the East River tidal estuary, and then into the Atlantic Ocean on the east coast of the United States. It is one of the largest natural harbors in t ...
and its two masts are still visible above the surface.
* Lightship
LV-82 ''Buffalo'' foundered in
Lake Erie
Lake Erie ( "eerie") is the fourth largest lake by surface area of the five Great Lakes in North America and the eleventh-largest globally. It is the southernmost, shallowest, and smallest by volume of the Great Lakes and therefore also has t ...
near
Buffalo, during the
Great Lakes Storm of 1913
The Great Lakes Storm of 1913 (historically referred to as the "Big Blow", the "Freshwater Fury", and the "White Hurricane") was a blizzard with hurricane-force winds that devastated the Great Lakes Basin in the Midwestern United States and Sou ...
with the loss of six lives. See
Shipwrecks of the 1913 Great Lakes storm
This is a list of shipwrecks during the Great Lakes Storm of 1913.
Vessels gallery
File:Leafield before the 1913 Great Lakes storm.png, "Leafield"
File:Henry B Smith LOC det 4a16048.jpg, "Henry B Smith"
File:Argus before 1913 Great Lakes st ...
and
List of victims of the 1913 Great Lakes storm.
* Lightship No. 61 "Corsica Shoals" was destroyed in the same storm on Lake Huron as Lightship 82. See
Huron Lightship
Huron may refer to:
People
* Wyandot people (or Wendat), indigenous to North America
* Wyandot language, spoken by them
* Huron-Wendat Nation, a Huron-Wendat First Nation with a community in Wendake, Quebec
* Nottawaseppi Huron Band of Potawatom ...
for further details.
* LV-6 and LV-73 were both lost with all hands.
* The
Nantucket Lightship LV-117
''LV-117'' was a lightvessel of the United States Lighthouse Service. Launched in 1931, she operated as the Lightship Nantucket, Nantucket lightship south of Nantucket Shoals. Moored south of Nantucket Island, Massachusetts, the lightship was ...
was rammed and sunk in 1934 by
RMS ''Olympic'' homing in on its radio beacon, with a loss of seven out of a crew of eleven.
*
Lightship No. 114 (WAL-536), built by
Albina Engine & Machine Works
Albina Engine & Machine Works was a shipyard along the Willamette River in Portland, Oregon, United States. It was located in the Albina area of Portland along N. River Street and N. Loring Street. Albina Engine & Machine Works was founded in 190 ...
, served as an active lightship from 1930 to 1971. Her last assignment was at
Portland, Maine
Portland is the largest city in the U.S. state of Maine and the seat of Cumberland County. Portland's population was 68,408 in April 2020. The Greater Portland metropolitan area is home to over half a million people, the 104th-largest metropol ...
. In 1975 she was purchased by the city of
New Bedford, Massachusetts
New Bedford (Massachusett language, Massachusett: ) is a city in Bristol County, Massachusetts, Bristol County, Massachusetts. It is located on the Acushnet River in what is known as the South Coast (Massachusetts), South Coast region. Up throug ...
and had "NEW BEDFORD" painted on her sides (despite the fact there never was a New Bedford lightship). She was never adequately maintained and her hull decayed due to years of neglect. She remained in New Bedford until she sank at her mooring on May 31, 2006. She was deemed beyond repair and was sold for scrap.
Popular culture
*''Lightship,'' a
1934 novel by
Archie Binns.
*''
Men of the Lightship'', a 1940 British propaganda film produced during
World War II
World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...
.
* ''The Lightship,'' a translation of the 1960 short story ''Das Feuerschiff'' by
Siegfried Lenz
Siegfried Lenz (; 17 March 19267 October 2014) was a German writer of novels, short stories and essays, as well as dramas for radio and the theatre. In 2000 he received the Goethe Prize on the 250th Anniversary of Johann Wolfgang von Goethe's bi ...
.
* ''
The Lightship
''The Lightship'' is a 1985 American drama film directed by Jerzy Skolimowski. The film stars Klaus Maria Brandauer and Robert Duvall, with early appearances by Arliss Howard and William Forsythe.
The film is based on the novella "Das Feuerschif ...
'', a 1985 film adapted from the Lenz novel, with
Robert Duvall
Robert Selden Duvall (; born January 5, 1931) is an American actor and filmmaker. His career spans more than seven decades and he is considered one of the greatest American actors of all time. He is the recipient of an Academy Award, four Gold ...
and
Klaus Maria Brandauer
Klaus Maria Brandauer (; born Klaus Georg Steng; 22 June 1943) is an Austrian actor and director. He is also a professor at the Max Reinhardt Seminar.
Brandauer is known internationally for his roles in ''The Russia House'' (1990), ''Mephisto'' ...
.
* ''
The Lightship
''The Lightship'' is a 1985 American drama film directed by Jerzy Skolimowski. The film stars Klaus Maria Brandauer and Robert Duvall, with early appearances by Arliss Howard and William Forsythe.
The film is based on the novella "Das Feuerschif ...
'', a 1963 West German film adapted from the Lenz novel, with
James Robertson Justice
James Robertson Justice (15 June 1907 – 2 July 1975) was a British actor. He is best remembered for portraying pompous authority figures in comedies including each of the seven films in the ''Doctor'' series. He also co-starred with Grego ...
.
*
Lillie Lightship: A fictional lightship from the
children's television series
Children's television series (or children's television shows) are television programs designed for children, normally scheduled for broadcast during the morning and afternoon when children are awake. They can sometimes run during the early evenin ...
''
TUGS''.
* ''Lightship'', a
2007
File:2007 Events Collage.png, From top left, clockwise: Steve Jobs unveils Apple's first iPhone; TAM Airlines Flight 3054 overruns a runway and crashes into a gas station, killing almost 200 people; Former Pakistani Prime Minister of Pakistan, Pr ...
children's picture book by
Brian Floca
Brian Floca is an American writer and illustrator of children's books. He is best known for illustrating books written by Avi and for nonfiction picture books. In 2014, he won the Caldecott Medal for his book, ''Locomotive'', as well as the Rob ...
. A Richard Jackson Book: Atheneum Books for Young Readers. Simon & Schuster Children's Books A
Junior Library Guild
Junior Library Guild, formerly the Junior Literary Guild, is a commercial book club devoted to juvenile literature. It was created in 1929 as one of the enterprises of the Literary Guild, an adult book club created in 1927 by Samuel W. Craig and H ...
Selection. .
* In the 1990s, the
Boston Beer Company
The Boston Beer Company is an American brewery founded in 1984. Boston Beer Company's first brand of beer was named Samuel Adams after Founding Father Samuel Adams, an American revolutionary patriot. Since its founding, Boston Beer has started se ...
produced a light beer that was called Lightship, with a picture of a 19th-century lightship in rough seas on the label. The line has since been discontinued with the advent of Sam Adams Light.
* In the 2015 video game ''
Sunless Sea
''Sunless Sea'' is a survival/exploration role-playing video game with roguelike elements developed by Failbetter Games. The game was released on 6 February 2015 for Windows and OS X following a successful Kickstarter campaign to crowdfund the ...
'', the player can visit several lightships moored around the game's world, an underground body of water called the Unterzee.
See also
*
Lists of lighthouses
This article contains links to lists of lighthouses around the world. According to ''Lighthouse Directory'', there are more than 18,600 lighthouses worldwide.
Africa
*''Note: Click on the country or place name of your choice in the table belo ...
*
Lists of lightvessels
This article lists lightvessels around the world. Most surviving light vessels reside in the United Kingdom and the United States
The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is ...
*
Lighthouse tender
A lighthouse tender is a ship specifically designed to maintain, support, or tend to lighthouses or lightvessels, providing supplies, fuel, mail, and transportation.
In the United States, these ships originally served as part of the Lighthous ...
References
Further reading
* United States Coast Guard, ''Aids to Navigation'', (Washington, DC: U. S. Government Printing Office, 1945).
*
* Putnam, George R., ''Lighthouses and Lightships of the United States'', (Boston: Houghton Mifflin Co., 1933).
*
* Clark, Liam. ''Light in the darkness - a history of lightships and the people who served on them''. (Amberley, 2016)
External links
1926 Christmas on a lightship.Floca, Brian, ''Lightship'', youtube video.Lightship Service in Russian WatersLightship Frying Pan in New York City"Aboard Lightship Five-Fathoms", December 1931, Popular MechanicsAmbrose lightship at New York City's South Street Seaport MuseumU. S. Coast Guard's "Lightships of the U. S. Government" site*
ttps://www.youtube.com/watch?v=o4CiDlyb734 Storbrotten lightship, YouTube.
{{Authority control
Navigational aids
Ships of the United States Lighthouse Service