This article lists lightvessels around the world. Most surviving light vessels reside in the United Kingdom and the United States. Some of the lightvessels mentioned in the lists have been renamed more than once, while others have been re-stationed or captured in war. Lightvessels were also not as permanent as a building or structure which helped lead to the replacement of others.
The examples and perspective in this section deal primarily with Europe and do not represent a worldwide view of the subject.(January 2023) |
Name | Image | Country | Location Coordinates | Year built | Year deactivated | Fate |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Bras d'Or | — | Canada | — | 1926 | 1939 | Reported as missing in 1940. [2] |
CLS-4 Carpentaria | Australia | Sydney | 1917 | 1985 | Museum ship in Sydney |
A lightvessel, or lightship, is a ship that acts as a lighthouse. They are used in waters that are too deep or otherwise unsuitable for lighthouse construction. Although some records exist of fire beacons being placed on ships in Roman times, the first modern lightvessel was off the Nore sandbank at the mouth of the River Thames in England, placed there by its inventor Robert Hamblin in 1734. The type has become largely obsolete; lighthouses replaced some stations as the construction techniques for lighthouses advanced, while large, automated buoys replaced others.
The history of the many lightvessel stations of Great Britain goes back over 250 years to the placement of the world's first lightship at the Nore in the early 18th century.