Aim

The Northern Lighthouse Board's principal concern is with safety: the safety of the mariner at sea; the safety of our own people employed in or around some of the world's most dangerous coastlines; and the safety of environment in which we, and those who come after us, must live and work.

The Northern Lighthouse Board has long been at the forefront of navigational technology. The programme to automate all major lighthouses was successfully completed on 31 March 1998. The Board completed the conversion of all its statutory lit buoyage to solar power in 1997. Thereafter, an ongoing programme of modernisation and overhaul will continue well into the 21st Century.

The Board has always prided itself on its efficiency and cost effectiveness. For the future, it aims to provide a reliable, low-maintenance and cost-effective network of Aids to Navigation, backed by a safe, efficient and professional support organisation.

The joint General Lighthouse Authorities' policy is based on the continuing requirement for the foreseeable future for a base-level of traditional visual aids to navigation, in the form of lights, beacons and buoyage, but a decreasing reliance of these "traditional" aids to navigation and an increasing reliance on high-precision radio aids. The Joint GLAs' policy also provides a mechanism for the ongoing review of tasking and policies.