Lighthouse tender

A lighthouse tender is a ship specifically designed to maintain, support, or tend to lighthouses, or lightvessels, providing supplies, fuel, mail and transportation.

In the United States, these ships originally served as part of the Lighthouse Service and now are part of the Coast Guard. The first ship constructed as a tender was "Shubrick". However, the first American tender of the Lighthouse Service was a former revenue cutter, "Rush", which was acquired in 1840. [ [http://www.nps.gov/history/maritime/nhl/fir.htm Shanks, Ralph, National Historic Landmark Study National Park Service, Maritime History, Lighthouse Tender U.S. Coast Guard Cutter Fir (WLM 212) (1991), designated April 27, 1992.] ]

The USCGC "Fir" (WLM-212) was the last active representative of the service, and is now a U.S. National Historic Landmark.

ee also

*USCG Coastal Buoy Tender

References

Further reading

* Putnam, George R., "Lighthouses and Lightships of the United States", (Boston: Houghton Mifflin Co., 1933).
* United States Coast Guard, "Aids to Navigation", (Washington, DC: U. S. Government Printing Office, 1945).
* [http://www.uscg.mil/History/weblighthouses/h_lhbib.asp United States Coast Guard, "Aids to Navigation Historical Bibliography".]

External links

* [http://www.terrypepper.com/lights/closeups/tenders/index.htm Great Lakes Lighthouse tenders, Terry Pepper, Seeing the Light.]
* [http://www.uscg.mil/hq/g-cp/history/webcutters/Fir_1940.html U.S. Coast Guard, Fir (WLM 212).]