Northern Lighthouse Board takes part in Royal Maritime Day

on the Firth of Forth

 

 

On Wednesday 20 July the Royal Family will celebrate Britain’s maritime community making visits around the Country.  In Scotland as Patron of the Northern Lighthouse Board, Her Royal Highness The Princess Royal will spend the day at sea on the Board’s aids to navigation vessel MV POLE STAR, which was built in 2000 and launched by Her Royal Highness.  Leaving from Leith, Her Royal Highness will sail on the Firth of Forth taking in many aspects of maritime life and the industries, which use this busy stretch of water.  She will pass the Fairway Buoy, travelling up the north side of Inchkeith Island to view Inchkeith lighthouse, passing Inchcolm Island and Oxcars Lighthouse, through Mortimers Deep viewing the Shell/Exon Gas Terminal to Hound Point (BP Oil Terminal).  Following lunch on board Her Royal Highness will visit the Rosyth Ferry Terminal taking the chance to view the Superfast Rosyth to Zeebrugge Ferry. 

 

Her Royal Highness has been Patron of the Northern Lighthouse Board since 1993 and takes an active interest in the service it provides to the mariner.  The Board is responsible for a network of over 200 lighthouses around Scotland, its many isles and the Isle of Man.  But marine navigation is not just about lighthouses, the mariner now has a wide range of aids to navigation from satellite using Differential Global Positioning Systems (DGPS), Loran-C, racons, buoys and beacons to choose from and the Northern Lighthouse Board plays a vital role in developing and providing these systems.  The Board have been in existence since 1786 and have had their headquarters in George Street, Edinburgh since the 1830’s.  Whilst this may be regarded by some as an old institution it is actually very much a forward thinking organisation at the forefront of marine navigation technology.  Given the rapid changes in maritime practices the Northern Lighthouse Board and the two other General Lighthouse Authorities of the United Kingdom and Ireland look ahead to determine an overall strategy for the future. This vision provides users with a balanced view of requirements, so that our waters continue to be amongst the safest to navigate in the world.

 

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Notes to the Editor:-

 

This Maritime Day, including receptions in London and Edinburgh, Palace of Holyroodhouse, is part of a series of theme days hosted by Her Majesty to promote and support different aspects of British culture and industry.  Other theme days have included British Design, Women, Publishing, Tourism, Young Achievers and Pioneers.

 

Joining Her Royal Highness on Board MV POLE STAR will be:

The Rt Hon Lesley Hinds JP (Lord Lieutenant)

Peter Mackay CB, Chairman of the Commissioners of Northern Lighthouses

Captain James Taylor, Chief Executive, Northern Lighthouse Board

Guy Platten, Director of Marine Operations, Northern Lighthouse Board

Eddie Frizzell, Head of Enterprise, Transport and Lifelong Learning Department, Scottish Executive

 

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: 207 Lighthouses, 144 Buoys, 46 Beacons, 4 Differential Global Positioning System Stations, 22 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

Mobile 07831 635393

Fax 0131 220 2093

Email: enquiries@nlb.org.uk

www.nlb.org.uk