Northern Lighthouse Board
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The Northern Lighthouse Board (NLB), previously known as the Commissioners of Northern Light Houses, is the organisation responsible for marine navigation aids around the coastal areas of Scotland and the Isle of Man.
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[edit] History
The NLB was formed in 1786 by Act of Parliament to oversee the construction and operation of four Scottish lighthouses (Kinnaird Head, North Ronaldsay, Scalpay and Mull of Kintyre). The NLB's most famous engineer was Robert Stevenson, whose sons David, Alan, and Thomas followed their father into the profession. The Stevenson dynasty built the majority of the NLB's lights in some exceptionally challenging locations. Their lights were some of the engineering masterpieces of their time, notably those at Bell Rock, Skerryvore and Muckle Flugga
[edit] Assets
The board is based at its Georgian headquarters in George Street in the centre of Edinburgh from where it remotely monitors its network. Technical operations are carried out from a base in Oban on the west coast of Scotland, where there are maintenance workshops and facilities for the construction of buoys and beacons. The NLBs vessels are also based here.
As of 2006, the NLB operates the following;
[edit] Navigational devices
[edit] Vessels
The NLB operates two lighthouse tenders, known by the prefix Northern Lighthouse Vessel, or NLV. NLV Pole Star has been in service since 2000 and NLV Pharos is, due for delivery in December 2006[1]. This will be the tenth Pharos, replacing the ninth Pharos which was sold in September 2006 for use as a support vessel for the Falkland Islands.
[edit] Flags
The NLB uses two flags, an ensign and a Commissioners' Flag. The ensign is a Blue Ensign defaced with a white lighthouse in the fly, and is for general use. The Commissioners' flag, a plain White Ensign with a pre-1801 Union Flag in the canton, defaced with a blue lighthouse in the fly, is the only British flag to still use the pre-1801 Union Flag.[2] This flag is only flown from vessels with the Commissioners aboard.
[edit] See also
- Lighthouses in Scotland
- Commissioners of Irish Lights
- Trinity House who are responsible for lighthouses in England, Wales and the Channel Islands
- Richard Henry Brunton, the Scottish "Father of Japanese lighthouses"
[edit] References
- ^ http://www.nlb.org.uk/resources/mvpharos.htm NLB Website, MV Pharos page
- ^ www.fotw.net/flags/gb-lthse.html#cnlc Flags of the World, Northern Lighthouse Commissioner's Flag
