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.
Lightship
Fyrskip (norwegian bokmål), Fyrskepp (swedish)
Description
Ships, typically anchored in a specific location where a lighthouse would be impractical, and equipped with lights and various warning devices serving as aids to mariners.
Broader concept
Dataset owner
National Maritime Museums in Sweden (Government agency) owns the information on this page
Contact information
registrator@smtm.se [sv]
dataskyddsombud@smtm.se [sv]
dataskyddsombud@smtm.se [sv]
License
Public Domain Dedication (CC0)
applies to the information on this page
Last changed
01/06/2015 11:08:58
Label
Lightship
English
Fyrskip
Fyrskepp
Description
Ships, typically anchored in a specific location where a lighthouse would be impractical, and equipped with lights and various warning devices serving as aids to mariners.
English
Wikipedia (via Wikidata)
Broader concept