NLV Pharos

NLV Pharos at Greenock
Career (UK)
Name:	NLV Pharos
Namesake:	Lighthouse of Alexandria
Owner:	Williams & Glyn's Leasing Company[1]
Operator:	Northern Lighthouse Board
Port of registry:	Leith
Awarded:	11 November 2004
Builder:	Remontowa, Gdańsk, Poland
Launched:	3 February 2006
Commissioned:	9 May 2007
Homeport:	Oban
Identification:	IMO Number: 9338606[2] MMSI Number: 233185000 Call sign: GNLB
General characteristics
Class and type:	Lloyd's + 100A1, +LMC, +UMS, CAS, DP(AA)
Tonnage:	Gross Tonnage: 3569 Tonnes Net Tonnage: 1101 tonnes
Displacement:	Deadweight: 1233 tonnes
Length:	o/a: 84.20m BP: 75.00m
Beam:	16.5 m
Height:	Air Draught 30 m
Draught:	4.25 m
Depth:	to Main Deck: 7.20 m
Propulsion:	Diesel-electric: Wartsila Engines 3 x 1370ekw – 2 x 685ekw; 2 x 1500kw Rolls Royce Azimuth Propellers; Two Bow Thrusters
Speed:	12.5 knots
Capacity:	30 cabins
Complement:	7 Officers & 11 PO/Crew
Aviation facilities:	forward helicopter flight deck
Notes:	[3][4]

NLV Pharos is a lighthouse tender operated by the Northern Lighthouse Board (NLB), the body responsible for the operation of lighthouses and marine navigation aids around the coasts of Scotland and the Isle of Man.

History

NLV Pharos and her sister ship, THV Galatea (2006) were built by Stocznia Remontowa SA, Gdańsk, Poland as part of a £38 million contract. THV Galatea serves the same role for Trinity House on the coast of England, Wales and the Channel Islands.^[5]

NLV Pharos is the tenth NLB vessel to carry the name, replacing the ninth Pharos in March 2007.^[3] The first Pharos, which operated as a lighthouse vessel from 1799 to 1810, was a simple wooden sloop 49 feet long (approx 15 metres) and 18 feet wide (approx 5½ metres).^[6]

Pharos was the great lighthouse of Alexandria, one of the Seven Wonders of the Ancient World.^[7]

Service

NLV Pharos is based in Oban and works mainly in Scottish and Manx waters, servicing over 200 automatic lighthouses, buoys, and beacons. She is also able to carry out hydrographic surveying and wreck finding and other commercial work under contract.^[6]

References

1. ^ "NLV Pharos Visits Douglas". Irish Sea Shipping. http://www.irishseashipping.com/photofeatures/services/lightservices/pharos100708/pharos100708.htm. Retrieved 2008-08-02. 
2. ^ "Pharos". VesselTracker.com. http://www.vesseltracker.com/en/Ships/Pharos-9338606.html. Retrieved 20 February 2010. 
3. ^ ^{a b} "NLV Pharos". Northern Lighthouse Board. http://www.nlb.org.uk/resources/mvpharos.htm. Retrieved 2008-08-02. 
4. ^ "Press Release: Royal Commissioning of new ship NLV Pharos in Leith, Edinburgh". Northern Lighthouse Board. 9 May 2007. http://www.nlb.org.uk/news/PR2007/PR3_2007.htm. Retrieved 2008-08-02. 
5. ^ "Press Release: THV Galatea arrives in home port of Harwich". Trinity House. 23 July 2007. Archived from the original on 2008-06-23. http://web.archive.org/web/20080623090338/http://www.trinityhouse.co.uk/media_centre/press_releases/press_release.html?id=15285. Retrieved 2008-08-02. 
6. ^ ^{a b} "Press Release: Northern Lighthouse Board Welcomes New Ship into Oban". Northern Lighthouse Board. 30 March 2007. http://www.nlb.org.uk/news/PR2007/PR1_2007.htm. Retrieved 2008-08-02. ^{[dead link]}
7. ^ "The Great Pharos Lighthouse". Seven Wonders of the Ancient World. http://www.cleveleys.co.uk/wonders/pharoslighthouse.htm. Retrieved 2008-08-02.