Admiralty List of Lights

The Admiralty List of Lights and Fog Signal is published in 11 volumes giving a
world-wide listing of all lighthouses and lights of navigational importance. Also
mentioned are lightships, floating marks over 8 metres in height, fog signals (but
not buoys less than 8 metres in height). These volumes are listed alphabetically
as Volume A, B, C etc. Each volume covers different geographical locations. A
new edition of each volume is published every eighteen months and corrections
are printed in Section V of the Weekly Notices to Mariners. Volumes must be
corrected on board so that they are kept up to date.

For each light the following details are given in eight columns with in the List of
Lights.

1. Number, used for indexing.

2. Name and descriptive position.

3. Approximate latitude and longitude.

4. Characteristics and intensity of lights (when nominal range is not

used).

5. Elevation of the light in metres above Mean High

Water Springs (MHWS) level.

6. Range of visibility in sea miles.

7. Description of the structure on which the light is situated and the

height of the structure above the ground in metres.

8. Phases, sectors, arcs of visibility, period of illumination, important

temporary information and other relevant remarks. In addition any
minor associated lights, which do not merit separate numbering are
also listed under the main light.

In addition, each volume contains tables for the calculation of the geographical
and luminous range of lights; definitions of, and general remarks on, the
characteristics of lights and fog signals; a list of foreign language equivalents of
the abbreviations used in light descriptions. In some volumes, special comments
are found on problems special to the areas covered by them. Items covered
include offshore oil rigs, light vessels and distress signals.
 How List of Lights and Fog Signals are corrected
1. Corrections and temporary alterations of the lights and their characteristics
are included in Section V of the Weekly Edition of Notices to Mariners.

2. They are arranged in numerical order and are intended for cutting out and
pasting over the corrected portion of the relevant volume.

3. The corrections affecting the volume are logged down in the space given on
the front cover of each volume to identify the notice number to which each
volume has been corrected. This is only entered after correction to the List of
Lights is completed, the officer making the correction initialling on the right
hand side.

NOTE:
Changes to lights shown on charts are made by notices in Section II of
the weekly editions, which are usually published later than
corresponding information in Section V, as chart correcting notices
takes longer to produce. Hence Admiralty List of Lights should always
be consulted whenever details of a light is required.

IMPORTANT: Once a new edition of a volume is published (as indicated in

the weekly notice to mariners), the corrections to the old edition must
stop immediately. All corrections for the new volume should be
retained and the new volume corrected, as soon as it is received on
board. If the corrections to the old volumes are continued - then the
new edition will not have all the necessary corrections.

Some Important Definitions:

The Luminous Range of a light is the maximum distance at which a light

can be seen under existing visibility conditions. This luminous range
takes no account of the elevation of the light, the observer's height of
eye, the curvature of the earth, or interference from background lighting.
This luminous range depends on the intensity of the lights expressed
in candelas and is determined from the known nominal luminous range,
called the nominal range and the existing visibility conditions.

The Luminous range diagram (see below) is used to convert the

nominal range to the luminous range.
The Nominal range of a light is the maximum distance at which a light can be
seen in clear weather. Clear weather is defined by the International Visibility
Code as having a meteorological visibility of 10 nautical miles.
The Geographical range of a light is the maximum distance at which the
curvature of the earth permits a light to be seen from a particular height of eye
without regard to the luminous intensity of the light. The range mentioned in the
chart or tabulated in the List of Lights is the maximum distance at which the
curvature of the earth permits a light to be seen from a height of eye of 15 feet (5
metres) above the water. The geographic range therefore depends on both the
height of light and the height of eye of the observer.

Geographic range tables for lights are available on all Admiralty List of
Lights and Fog Signals.

LIGHT CHARACTERISTICS: When approaching a harbour or port you generally

see various lights. To distinguish navigation lights from shore lights they are
assigned different characteristics like, such as:- fixed lights, flashing lights,
occulting lights, isophase, alternating etc. Details and definitions of the
above lights are given in Admiralty List of Lights and Fog Signals. Refer
to them and try identifying lights with different characteristics.