A new aids to navigation vessel for the Northern Lighthouse Board (NLB) arrived in Oban, west Scotland, on Christmas Day, on completion of a three-day delivery from a shipyard in Spain.
The £51.8 million newbuild NLV Pole Star had received a 'spectacular' welcome at Oban, the marine depot of the NLB, as local RNLI lifeboat crews escorted the new vessel into Oban Bay.
NLV Pole Star replaces a predecessor with the same name and hence becomes the fifth vessel to bear the name of the buoy-handling vessel. The newbuild will support the NLB, the General Lighthouse Authority (GLA) responsible for the waters off Scotland and the Isle of Man.
The 70 m newbuild was built by Gondon Shipbuilders, Gijón, from where it carried out sea trials off northern Spain. It joins its larger fleetmate, NLV Pharos, in maintaining and managing lighthouses, buoys, and other marine aids to navigation across such waters.
Commenting on the occasion, Master Chris Somerville said, “It’s a brilliant feeling to sail our new vessel into Oban Bay, and to be escorted in by the Oban Lifeboat crew is the best Christmas present we could wish for.
“We left Gijon in Spain on December 22, and the vessel has proved to be excellent. We experienced some rough weather for the first 12 hours of the passage in Biscay and then again some rough wind waves as we approached Bishop Rock in the Isles of Scilly, but the ship dealt with this very well.
More reports The Herald Scotland on the newbuild from the shipyard, which was awarded the multi-million-pound contract in December 2022 for the build of this new hybrid-powered vessel.
