Press Releases - back to Press                                                                                   21 July 2005

Northern Lighthouse Board leases premises at Scalloway

The Northern Lighthouse Board is pleased to announce that it has leased premises in Scalloway. In support of their policy to decentralise maintenance teams from Edinburgh and allow faster responses to outages and more efficient working, they have signed a lease with Shetland Islands Council, for a small section of modern commercial premises in Scalloway.

The Board recently recruited two Shetland based technicians, these premises will provide office space and storage for them as well as providing support to other Board staff involved in project work in Shetland. The Boards ongoing programme of planned Electrical and Mechanical maintenance coupled with prompt response to outages has allowed the Northern Lighthouse Board to retain a very high level of availability, 99.89% with its Category 1 Aids to Navigation, which is well above internationally agreed standards.

One of the conclusions of the General Lighthouse Authorities Marine Aids to Navigation Strategy document 2020 The Vision was that audible fog signals had a significantly reduced role in the modern marine environment, as a result of the widespread use of electronic position finding aids and radar, and the adoption of enclosed bridges on many vessels. The Board have taken the decision that all of NLB's Fog Signals are surplus to requirement, and that the remaining systems will be decommissioned with effect from 31 August 2005. On the 17 June 2005 James Taylor, Chief Executive and Bill Murray, Retained Lighthouse Keeper switched off the Fair Isle South Fog Horn for the last time – this was the last working fog horn in Shetland.

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Notes to Editor:-
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