Northern Lighthouse Board
Ardnamurchan © NLB  
 

Press Releases - back to Press                           9th May 2007

 

Royal Commissioning of new ship NLV PHAROS in Leith, Edinburgh 

9 May 2007 - Commissioning Ceremony - Her Royal Highness The Princess Royal meets (from left to right) Captain Eric Smith, Andrew Duncan, Ship Construction Manager and Captain George Sutherland, Chairman of Commissioners of Northern Lighthouses on board NLV PHAROS. © Norman Burniston

image NLV PHAROS with Lismore Lighthouse in background: ©Norman Burniston

image NLV PHAROS: © Norman Burniston

The Commissioning Ceremony of the Northern Lighthouse Board’s new ship NLV PHAROS by Her Royal Highness The Princess Royal will take place at 12 noon on Wednesday 9 May 2007 at the Cruise Liner Terminal, Leith, Edinburgh, where NLV PHAROS will be alongside.  The ship will be blessed by the Reverend James MacDonald of Crieff Parish Church, and previous Principal Chaplain to the British and International Sailor's Society.

NLV PHAROS was built by Gdansk Stocznia Remontowa S.A. yard in Gdansk, Poland and was specifically designed and built for the unique work carried out by the Northern Lighthouse Board. The ship was officially named and launched in February 2006, by HRH The Princess Royal and the Board accepted the ship from the shipyard in March 2007.

This is the tenth vessel operated by the Northern Lighthouse Board to be named PHAROS, the first being in 1799.  The ship has an overall length of 84.20 metres and breadth of 16.50 metres.  The level of sophistication in its equipment is second to none and boasts dynamic positioning, a large aft working deck area, integrated bridge management system and forward helicopter flight deck as PHAROS also supports land-based operations by helicopter or small high speed water craft for operations in remote areas.  All of which will meet the high technical standards demanded by the Lighthouse Board for the exacting operations conducted around our coast.

The ship will work mainly in Scottish and Manx waters (the area covered by the Board) servicing over 200 automatic lighthouses, 157 buoys and 40 beacons.  Both PHAROS and the Board’s smaller buoy tender NLV POLE STAR are equipped to the highest standard with the latest electronic and communications technology. In addition to their statutory roles the ships support commercial projects, ranging from the provision and maintenance of local Aids to Navigation, through hydrographic surveying to the development of new Aids to Navigation programmes for the decommissioning of oil and gas platforms. The ship will operate out of the Board’s operational base in Oban.

Guests, staff and Commissioners of the Northern Lighthouse Board will gather on the quayside for the official ceremony.  Following the Commissioning ceremony PHAROS will stay in Leith until 11 May when she will set sail for her home port of Oban before heading to work at Dubh Artach Lighthouse on the west coast of Scotland.
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PHOTOGRAPHS          

Photographs will be available from the Northern Lighthouse Board website www.nlb.org.uk NEWS section.

Notes to the Editor

  • Her Royal Highness The Princess Royal became Patron of the Northern Lighthouse Board in 1993 and routinely spends time on the Board's vessels seeing the work that they do.
  • The ship is being financed by the Royal Bank of Scotland with leasing costs being met by the General Lighthouse Fund.  This fund, which is under the trusteeship of the UK Secretary of State for Transport who has approved the order, is financed by Light Dues paid by vessels visiting UK and Irish ports. It is not financed by general taxation.
  • The Contract with the Gdansk Stocznia Remontowa S.A. was to build two 82m Multi-Function Tenders (MFTs), one for each GLA, and one 35m Rapid Intervention Vessel (RIV) for Trinity House.  The ships are built to the high technical standards demanded by the GLAs for the exacting operations they conduct around our coast.  The tendering process to select the shipyard to build the vessels followed the requirements of the EU Procurement Directives.
  • Reverend James MacDonald of Crieff Parish Church.  Prior to his return north of the border 5 years ago he held the post of Principal Chaplain to the British and International Sailor's Society, being based in Southampton for twelve years.
  • 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.
  • The Board currently operates: 215 Lighthouses, 157 Buoys, 40 Beacons, 4 Differential Global Positioning System Stations, 26 Racons and 1 Loran-C Station on trial.
  • 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.
  • The other General Lighthouse Authorities are the Commissioners of Irish Lights (Republic of Ireland and Northern Ireland) and Trinity House (England, Wales, the Channel Islands and Gibraltar).
  • 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,OHSAS 18001 and BS ISO/IEC 27001:2005.

For further information, please contact:
Lorna Hunter, Information Officer
Tel 0131 473 3100
Mobile 07831 635393
Fax 0131 220 2093

For more information on the Northern Lighthouse Board visit www.nlb.org.uk

 

General Particulars 
Class:              Lloyd’s Register of Shipping (LRS) with Notations +100A1, +LMC, +UMS, CAC,                                       DP(AA), MCM, NAV, IBS, LA, EP
Gross Tonnage:                      3672 tonnes
Net Tonnage:                          1101 tonnes
Deadweight:                            1233 tonnes
Length Overall:                        84.25m
Registered length:       79.92m
Depth:                                                 7.2m
Breadth Moulded:        16.50m
Design Draught:                      4.25m
Accommodation:                     30 cabins
Manning                                               7 Officers & 11 PO/Crew
Propulsion:                                          2 x 1500kw Rolls Royce Azimuthing Units
Generation Wartsila Engines 3 x 1370ekw – 2 x 685ekw
Trial Speed:                             13.5 knots
Service Speed:                       12.5 knots
Total Engine Power: 5760kW.

Equipped with
• dynamic positioning                                     
• hydrographic surveying
• large aft working deck area 
• wreck finding
• integrated bridge management system      
 • latest environmental standards
• 30 Tonne Crane                               
• better and safer working environment
• forward helicopter flight deck           
• Tow winch and a bollard pull of 33 tonnes