A steel-cutting ceremony for the Northern Lighthouse Board’s new state of the art hybrid powered vessel, which is to serve off Scotland and the Isle of Man, took place in a Spanish shipyard, Astilleros Gondán S.A.

Phil Day, Director of Operations with the Northern Lighthouse Board said: “The steel cutting ceremony is an important milestone as it marks the moment when production starts on the build of the new Pole Star, following an intensive 10-month period of detailed design work.

“Using new technology to minimise the impact on the environment and with additional capability to help deal with the effects of Climate Change, the new ship will ensure we can continue to deliver our vital safety service in Scottish and Manx waters into the 2050s.”

As Afloat previously reported the £51.8m newbuild is to enter service in Summer 2025 and will meet the ambitious environmental targets set out in the UK Government Clean Maritime Plan, whilst future proofing the Northern Lighthouse Board’s ability to deliver its vital safety services over the next 25 years.

NLB representatives Director of Operations, Phil Day and Technical Manager, Graham Moffat were also present at the event on Friday, 23 October, in a day that celebrated the exciting milestone.

The NLB is the General Lighthouse Authority (GLA) which is responsible for aids to navigation in the waters around Scotland and the Isle of Man.

The General Lighthouse Authority (GLA) for England, Wales and Channel Islands, Trinity House which has a project to commission the design and build of a vessel to replace THV Patricia has reached a major milestone following UK Ministerial approval to go forward to the tender phase.

Trinity House first announced the project on 9 September 2019, when the then-Maritime Minister Nusrat Ghani MP gave her support to the recommendation that the three GLA's of the UK and Ireland (along with the Northern Lighthouse Board and Irish Lights) needed a total of seven vessels to carry out their essential statutory functions.

This vessel will replace the multi-function THV Patricia, delivered in 1982 and reaching the end of its operational life. (Afloat adds the NLB, responsible for Scotland and the Isle of Man, is to replace one their buoy-laying vessels, NLV Pole Star)

Following the Minister’s approval (last month), Trinity House has issued an Invitation to Tender to reach out to the shipbuilding sector to identify a contractor that will deliver the design and build of a vessel that will support Trinity House at sea as it provides its aids to navigation services.

Secretary of State for Transport The Rt Hon Grant Shapps MP spoke of the importance of Trinity House’s milestone: “As an island nation with a rich maritime history, Britain is the best place in the world to build ships and this is a tremendous moment for the UK shipping sector.

“We are buying a new vessel for Trinity House which will be going out to tender shortly – this is a great opportunity for UK businesses to demonstrate their competitiveness in the sector. This will ensure our Trinity House has the modern and green vessel they need to continue to ensure the safety of all mariners.

“We’re also doing more than ever to power forward the UK maritime sector, supporting jobs and propelling a green recovery as we work with the sector to build a thriving industry for generations to come.”

Trinity House’s Deputy Master Captain Ian McNaught commented on this achievement and what comes next for the project: “I am delighted that we are one step closer to getting a new ship in the water, and so I want to thank not only the Minister but also the project team for the enormous efforts put in so far and of course the ships’ crews working at all hours on our marine operations.

“We will be looking closely at the tender submissions and we hope to see some great ideas that will make good use of technological and environmental innovations while also providing good value for money.”

Sailing was not the only activity that took place in Dublin Bay last Saturday as the Northern Lighthouse Board's (NLB) multi-function tender NLV Pharos was busy at work, writes Jehan Ashmore.

The NLB is the Scottish equivalent of the Commissioners of Irish Lights (CIL) and it is not unusual for such vessels to share work duties beyond their respective jurisdictions. The 84m NLV Pharos is equipped with dynamic positioning and a 30-tonne main crane on her 300m2 aft-deck.

Overall she is similar in appearance to Irish lights ILV Granuaile which is based out of Dun Laoghaire. The Irish Lights tender built in Romania in 2000 tends to operate more often off the west coast during the summer months due to the more favourable weather conditions.

The 1,300 (dwt) deadweight tonnes NLV Pharos yesterday returned to her base in Oban from her Irish duties. The west coast base was established in 1904 and is also homeport to the service's smaller NLV Pole Star which is equipped with an 18-tonne crane on her 90m2 aft deck.

The facility in 2000 underwent a £4.2 million redevelopment to turn a buoy yard into a multi functional support base which is computer-linked to the NLB headquarters in Edinburgh.

In addition Trinity House which maintains the service for England and Wales operate the tenders THV Galtea,THV Patricia and the fast-response craft THV Alert from their base in Harwich.

Trinity House forms the trio of the General Lighthouse Authorities (GLA) alongside NLB and CIL. Each member of the GLA co-operate in the allocation of vessel-tender deployment.

Asides the varied and critical role of the tasks performed by the GLA's tenders, they are also available for charter to third parties. Between them the tenders can conduct buoy and chain work, search and rescue, lighthouse re-fuelling, salvage and recovery, towing, hydrographic applications and ROV work.