Press Releases - back to Press                                                                                  16 August 2005

 

Northern Lighthouse Board guards sunken vessel in North Sea

On Friday 12 August 2005 the Northern Lighthouse Board ship MV POLE STAR headed south to assist Trinity House Lighthouse Service with the guarding of the sunken vessel Jacaba Alijd, which sank 48 miles North East off Bacton, North Norfolk on 9 August 2005.

The Trinity House vessel THLV MERMAID responded to the casualty and laid five marker buoys around the hazard, as this is a main channel for shipping MERMAID has remained on site as a guard ship until the Jacaba Alijd is salvaged. For operational reasons the MERMAID had to return to Harwich and under the Inter General Lighthouse Authority Ship Sharing agreement the Northern Lighthouse Board vessel, MV POLE STAR, headed South to take over guard. She arrived and replaced MERMAID Monday 15 August and will stay on position until Thursday 18 August when MERMAID will return and POLE STAR will head North and resume her operational programme.

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1. The Northern Lighthouse Board operates under statute - the Merchant Shipping Act 1995 - and is the General Lighthouse Authority for Scotland and the Isle of Man.

2. The Board currently operates: 210 Lighthouses, 153 Buoys, 45 Beacons, 4 Differential Global Positioning System Stations, 24 Radar Beacons and Loran-C on trial.

3. The Northern Lighthouse Board is funded entirely from the General Lighthouse Fund, sourced by "Light Dues", a levy paid by shipping. The Board receives no direct funding from the Exchequer or taxpayer.

4. The other General Lighthouse Authorities are the Commissioners of Irish Lights (Republic of Ireland and Northern Ireland) and Trinity House Lighthouse Service (England, Wales, the Channel Islands and Gibraltar).

5. The Northern Lighthouse Board is certificated to ISO9001:2000 standard for the provision of navigational aid services to seafarers and other organisations around the coast of Scotland and Isle of Man. Certification covers the design and maintenance of navigational aids and systems, logistical support and associated technical services including consultancy. The Board is also certified to The International Safety Management Code, (ISM Code) in respect of our ships and marine management systems and OHSAS 18001.

For further information, please contact:

Northern Lighthouse Board
Lorna Hunter, Information Officer
Tel 0131 473 3100
Fax 0131 220 2093
Email: enquiries@nlb.org.uk
www.nlb.org.uk