On Tuesday 11 November, POLE STAR, the Northern Lighthouse Board’s new vessel left the shipyard at GONDAN Shipbuilders and set sail for Gijón to begin sea trials. This is the vessel’s final stage in which she will need to complete a comprehensive set of sea trials before travelling with the NLB crew to her home in Scotland.

NLB announced the award of a £51.8 million contract to Spanish shipyard GONDAN in December 2022 for the build of new hybrid powered vessel. Subject to successful sea trials, the Northern Lighthouse Board should take delivery of the vessel in December.

Alisdair Graham, Ship’s Master with the Northern Lighthouse Board is on the vessel for the sea trials:

“From our departure it became evident that she is an extremely quiet vessel at sea. Throughout the accommodation you can barely tell you’re on a ship. Currently she has minimal weight onboard and sitting at a draught of 3.25 metres and has the qualities of a comfortable sea boat. We had about 20 knots of wind yesterday and a long Atlantic swell rolling in at around 2.5-3 metres and she handled this well. I was suitably impressed.

“We stopped for a fire drill, and she provided a very stable platform on the after deck. Although still early days I am filled with confidence that she will prove to be the vessel we all hoped for. We all just want to take delivery and sail over the horizon but hands must remain in pockets for now.”

The new vessel is a step change from what has gone before using new technology to minimise the impact on the environment and will bring additional capability to help deal with the effects of Climate Change.  Once delivered the ship will support NLB’s vital safety service to mariners in Scottish and Isle of Man waters.