Closure of British Lighthouses and Fog Horns

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[The Ferry Man]

A lot of Lighthouses and Foghorns seem to be closing...:

North Somerset lighthouse will be switched off
From: BBC News

A Somerset lighthouse is to be switched off following a national consultation.
Trinity House, which operates Blacknore Point Lighthouse in Portishead, said it would close by 2015. The lighthouse has been guiding vessels since it was built in 1894, but the use of modern satellite navigation systems means it is no longer needed. A second lighthouse in Suffolk is also set to close. A decision on what to do with the buildings has not yet been made.

A Trinity House spokesman said: "The decision to discontinue Blacknore lighthouse has been taken following traffic analysis of commercial and leisure shipping in the area. Decisions have been taken primarily on the navigational requirement."

Orford Ness lighthouse in Suffolk will also be switched off following the consultation. Two other lighthouses in England which had been earmarked for closure will remain open. The lights at Beachy Head in Sussex and Hartland Point in north Devon will continue to shine, but their ranges will be reduced and their fog horns will be switched off. Maryport lighthouse in Cumbria, which was also under consultation, will be handed over to the local harbour authority to run. In total, six lighthouses around the UK will be switched off under the plans.

I saw this on BFE

I know there are a lot of people who work on ships here, So I wondered what your opion is. Personally, I feel a lighthouse is still usefull, even in this 'computer age' - if the GPS satellites go off line... then what?

[thom301]

I totally agree with you.

thom

[clanky]

Anything which aids navigation is useful, the question is whether or not they are useful enough to warrant the expense of maintaining them.

[Trampship Man]

A lot of Lighthouses and Foghorns seem to be closing...:

I saw this on BFE

I know there are a lot of people who work on ships here, So I wondered what your opion is. Personally, I feel a lighthouse is still usefull, even in this 'computer age' - if the GPS satellites go off line... then what?

 

Hi Ferry Man,
                  Years ago I went down to Trinity House Depot at Holyhead with a mate of mine to attend an interview for a lighthouse keepers job.   I was accepted but my mate was turned down because he failed the math`s exam.  [Necessary for calculating consumption and restocking of supplies and fuel etc etc, especially if based on a `rock station`.]        Because they`d rejected my mate I turned the job down, even though it would probably have been a good `follow up` to my seafaring days.   I have always regretted not taking it if only for the experience, although the pay was absolutely scandalous.
                  I thought it a sad time when they dispensed with `keepers` and put automation in.   I find it even sadder to hear that actual stations are now to be closed.
                  I would agree with you that the stations themselves should perhaps be retained even if in a `mothballed` state.  Maybe the main ones in busy areas anyway.    After all, it has been proved time and time again that modern technology can fail, and sometimes in a very big way.                                     
                  Problem is, it`s difficult to argue against present day economics not to mention so called `progress`.                                                                                                                                                     Regards.
                       Ken Sherrocks.         





                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                     

[jim.smith]

No price should be put on peoples lives.Safety is of prime importance

[clanky]

No price should be put on peoples lives.Safety is of prime importance

In reality a price is put on safety all the time.

Decisions are made in industry and government every day where the potential benefits in safety are balanced against the costs involved.  As an example, it is well recognised that level crossings are not the safest way for roads to cross railways, people are killed on level crossings every year in the UK, but the cost involved in building bridges or tunnels for every road / rail crossing in the country could not be justified in order to save 1 or 2 lives each year.

The benefits of lighthouses in the age of modern technology and the risk of a failure of that technology where lighthouses would bring a huge increase to safety has obviously reached the point in the minds of those who make the decisions where they no longer outweigh the costs.

[IRI5HJ4CK]

Sad to hear that they're closing...But I guess we're in an era where technology is changing, things are being developed...but I still think as a few have said above, that they're very useful, not just for the Merchant Ships, but for pleasure craft too...It's also re-assuring to know there's a light shining here at Fleetwood. Hopefully it won't be another victim..Though it seems at some point it'll disappear too.

[McGherkin]

I think they should be only activated when they need to be - when a ship needs it to navigate (due to equipment failure, lack of equipment, incompetence)

But then they still have to maintain it so 

[IRI5HJ4CK]

How would you do that though...

"Hello is this Mick the lighthouse operator?"
"No"
"Ah sorry about that..."
*Bring bring* "Hello, is THIS the lighthouse operator?"
"Huh? who are you! *Hick!*"

See what I mean?

[McGherkin]

Believe it or not, some lighthouses don't have keepers any more...

If they were controlled by the local CG, with requests for it to be lit put out over VHF, then surely it isn't too hard to remotely activate the lighthouse...

[Ballast]

That's true McG., overhere even some locks and bridges are remotely controlled from a central point.

More and more ports get the possibility to give shore based radar assistance. The operator at the local CG station or VTS tells you the direction like an air traffic controller does with airplanes.

[clanky]

Believe it or not, some lighthouses don't have keepers any more...

If they were controlled by the local CG, with requests for it to be lit put out over VHF, then surely it isn't too hard to remotely activate the lighthouse...

There are very few lighthouses left which still have keepers, if lighthouses where switched on and off remotely they would still have to be maintained and would cost as much to keep going as if they were just lit all year round.