Press Releases - back to Press                                                                           23 December 2005

PRESS INFORMATION FROM TRINITY HOUSE
AND THE NORTHERN LIGHTHOUSE BOARD

Sri Lanka Aid to Navigation Relief Project

Background & Ideology
The scale of the devastation left behind by the December 2004 tsunami in the Indian Ocean was staggering. In Sri Lanka alone, some 40,000 people lost their lives. The human tragedy was exacerbated by immense damage to infrastructure and essential services. As an island nation, Sri Lanka was also left reeling by the loss of so many of its aids to navigation, lighthouses, buoys and beacons; essential for the safe passage of ships navigating around the coastline. Working with its members, the International Association of Marine Aids to Navigation and Lighthouse Authorities (IALA) was able quickly to formulate an initial assessment of damage, loss and need.

Trinity House and the Northern Lighthouse Board reacted immediately by putting together a team of engineers to undertake a survey and compile a detailed report on damage and requirements. Priorities have been identified and agreed with the Sri Lankan authorities.

The decision has been taken to concentrate initial work on refurbishing the two Basses lighthouses and replacing coastal buoyage at the ports of Trincomalee, on the northeast coast, and Galle, in the southwest of the island – 13 buoys in total. The cost for carrying out this priority work is estimated at £700,000. Two buoys have already been laid with more being laid imminently.

Since the General Lighthouse Fund, from which both Trinity House and the Northern Lighthouse board draw their funds, can only be used for Aids to Navigation around the coasts of UK and Ireland, the work in Sri Lanka is being financed from charitable donations. Sadly to date only some £200,000 of the £700,000 required has been raised and authorities and companies that trade in the region are being approached to contribute to repair work which is in their own interests

Great Basses and Little Basses Lighthouses
The Great Basses Lighthouse was built in 1896 and the Little Basses Lighthouse in 1897. Trinity House Engineers built both lighthouses under the auspices of the then Imperial Lighthouse Service.

Great Basses Lighthouse, being situated far offshore, took the full impact of the tsunami wave. However, its robust construction meant that structural damage was not severe and was limited to minor damage at the base of the tower. Planned work will address the lighting requirements and power source as well as the structural damage.

As with Great Basses, the offshore reef location of Little Basses left the lighthouse exposed to the full force of the tsunami wave, but the massive size of the tower limited structural damage to the area around the base. Again, remedial work will address the lighting requirements and power source, along with the structural damage.

Buoys
At the port of Galle, seven buoys lost to the tsunami will require replacement. At Trincomalee there is a requirement to replace six harbour buoys, missing since the tsunami. The planned replacement programme provides for buoyage upgrades in some cases.

Programme
The project will be carried out in consultation with the Sri Lankan authorities using local labour, to make easier the transfer of knowledge and enable the workforce to be properly trained in the operation and maintenance of the aids to navigation.

The initial programme of restoration is based on sound assessment and the first-hand knowledge gained by visits to, and surveys of, the affected aids to navigation by experts in their field. The utilisation of local Sri Lankan labour will benefit further the recovery of the islands economy.

Project Team - Personal Profiles

Richard Robinson – Team Leader
Richard moved to the United Kingdom three years ago where as a Chartered Mechanical Engineer he now works for Trinity House. As Project Manager in the Project Delivery Department he is personally involved in managing multi-discipline floating aids to navigation projects.

Born in Cape Town, South Africa, Richard graduated from the University of Cape Town (UCT) as a Mechanical Engineer. After graduating, Richard worked as a consultant, then moved on to design and installation of heat pump systems. From there he worked in the nuclear industry, being involved in the construction and system engineering of the Koeberg nuclear power station in Cape Town.

Graeme Macdonald
Graeme Macdonald has worked as a Civil Engineer for the Northern Lighthouse Board since 2001, during which time he has worked on the refurbishment and solarisation of a number of Scottish lighthouses.

Graeme is originally from Aberdeenshire and studied Civil Engineering at Edinburgh University. He is currently working towards a Masters Degree in Project Management.

Paul Briggs
Paul is a Project Engineer with Trinity House. During his time at Trinity House, Paul has been involved with the design of the electrical and electronic systems for use on a meteorological buoy for use during the survey prior to the installation of offshore wind farms.

He is currently the electrical and electronic Project Engineer for the new Class 1 buoy superstructure that will be used on a new generation of navigational buoys that will initially replace one Light Vessel and the two Light Floats.

Simon Robinson
Simon joined Trinity House in 1979 as a Second Officer on board one of the support vessels following a cadetship with Sugar Line from 1974 to 1979. He has served in various Trinity House vessels seeing duty around all areas of the coastline. Simon was appointed as master in 2002 and is currently serving as captain in the Trinity House Flagship Patricia.

Simon has extensive experience in the deployment and maintenance of floating aids to navigation. This experience will be utilised in Sri Lanka where he will oversee the deployment of the navigation buoys.

Richard commented on the team’s involvement in the Sri Lankan project:
“ Being involved in the refurbishment of the Sri Lankan buoyage and lighthouses is both an honour and a rewarding experience for the team as we have been given the opportunity to use our skills to transfer information and create awareness and most of all make an impact in bettering the lives of people who need assistance. Ultimately this achieves the end result of ensuring the safety of the mariner at sea which is the overall objective of working in the General Lighthouse Authorities”.

TRINITY HOUSE
The safety of shipping and the well being of seafarers, have been the prime concerns of Trinity House since it was granted a Charter by Henry VIII in 1514.

Today it has three distinct functions:
. First, as the General Lighthouse Authority for England, Wales, the Channel Islands and Gibraltar, responsible for a range of general aids to navigation, 'signs of the sea', from lighthouses to radar beacons.
. Second, as a charitable organisation dedicated to the safety, welfare and training of mariners.
. Third, as a Deep Sea Pilotage Authority providing expert navigators for ships trading in Northern European waters.

Trinity House is the General Lighthouse Authority for England, Wales and the Channel Islands, providing nearly 600 Aids to Navigation ranging from lighthouses, buoys and beacons to the latest satellite navigation technology. Our remit is to provide Aids to Navigation to assist the safe passage of a huge variety of vessels through some of the busiest sea-lanes in the world.

Trinity House is also a major maritime charity, wholly funded by its endowments, and spends around £2m each year on its charitable activities including welfare of mariners, education and training, the promotion of safety at sea, and its role as a Deep Sea Pilotage Authority.

Further information is available at www.trinityhouse.co.uk

NORTHERN LIGHTHOUSE BOARD
The Northern Lighthouse Board was established in 1786 and operates under statute - the Merchant Shipping Act 1995. The Board is responsible for marine aids to navigation for Scotland and the Isle of Man. This area covers half the waters and coastline of the United Kingdom, together with the majority of offshore manned oil installations. The area is subject to severe weather conditions for many months of the year. The approximate length of this coastline is 6,214 miles (10,000km) a land area of 30,405sq miles (77,700 sq km) and 790 islands.

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

The Board’s Vision Statement is "To deliver a reliable, efficient and cost-effective network of Aids to Navigation for the benefit and safety of all Mariners"

Further information is available at www.nlb.org.uk

The General Lighthouse Fund
The Trinity House Lighthouse Service and the Northern Lighthouse Board are financed from light dues levied on commercial vessels calling at ports in the British Isles, based on the net registered tonnage of the vessel. Light dues are paid into the General Lighthouse Fund, which is under the stewardship of the Department for Transport. The fund is also used to finance the aids to navigation services provided by the Commissioners of Irish Lights who are responsible for the waters of both Northern Ireland and the Republic of Ireland.

For further information please contact:

Northern Lighthouse Board
Lorna Hunter
Tel: 0131 473 3100
LornaHu@nlb.co.uk

Trinity House
Vikki Gilson
Tel: 020 7481 6960
vikki.gilson@thls.org