Release date: Wednesday 16 July 2008
NEWS RELEASE
Date: 16 July 2008
HRH The Princess Royal visits West Coast Lighthouse
Her Royal Highness The Princess Royal will join the Northern Lighthouse Board’s new ship NLV PHAROS, off the Isle of Skye, on 22 July 2008.
In her role as Patron of the Board The Princess Royal will visit Rubh Reidh lighthouse, near Gairloch on the West Coast of the Scottish mainland. Rubh Reidh lighthouse was designed and built by David A Stevenson in 1912 to mark the entrance to Loch Ewe. The lighthouse was converted to automatic status in 1986 and the former keepers cottages were sold on and now operate as bed and breakfast and self catering accommodation.
Rubh Reidh lighthouse is still regarded as an important aid to marine navigation and has a range of 24 nautical miles and a character of flashing 4 white every 15 seconds. The light operates automatically with a light sensor determining when daylight falls and rises between set levels and the light is switched on and off. The status of the light and all its associated equipment is relayed back to the Northern Lighthouse Board's (NLB) office in Edinburgh by phone link. Each year the light receives a visit from skilled technicians to carry out routine maintenance on the engines and systems.
The Northern Lighthouse Board is the General Lighthouse Authority for the waters surrounding Scotland and the Isle of Man, responsible for the superintendence and management of all lights, buoys and beacons within this area. Through research, development and consultation the NLB is committed to improving the performance and range of the provision of aids to navigation it provides. However, in today’s high tech world, marine navigation is not just about lighthouses; the mariner now has a wide choice of aids to navigation, ranging from satellite using Differential Global Positioning Systems (DGPS), through integrated charting systems, eLoran, radar beacons (racons) to buoys and, of course, lighthouses. The Northern Lighthouse Board are experts in the safety of marine navigation and play a vital role in developing and providing all these systems.
Since becoming Patron of the Northern Lighthouse Board in 1993 Her Royal Highness The Princess Royal has taken a keen interest in its work. More recently in 2006 she launched their ship NLV PHAROS and in 2007 commissioned it into the service of the Board. Over the years she has now visited over 80 of the 212 lighthouses owned and operated by the Board.
Over 200 years of dedicated service to the mariner the Board continues in the spirit of its motto “In Salutem Omnium” For the Safety of All.
Her Royal Highness will depart NLV PHAROS on 23 July 2008.
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Notes to the Editor
- Her Royal Highness The Princess Royal became Patron of the Northern Lighthouse Board in 1993.
- Joining the Her Royal Highness on board NLV PHAROS will be:-
Dr Andrew Cubie CBE, Commissioner of Northern Lighthouses (Vice Chair)
Roger Lockwood CB, Chief Executive, Northern Lighthouse Board
Phil Day, Director of Marine Operations, Northern Lighthouse Board
- 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.
- During the visit Her Royal Highness will carry out an engagement at Staffin on Skye with Columba 1400.
- 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.
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- The Board currently operates: 212 Lighthouses, 160 Buoys, 37 Beacons, 4 Differential Global Positioning System Stations, 25 Racons and 1 eLoran.
- 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
Northern Lighthouse Board
Tel 0131 473 3100
Mobile 07831 635393
Fax 0131 220 2093
Email: enquiries@nlb.org.uk
www.nlb.org.uk