The Floating Lighthouse in New York: The Lightship Ambrose 

I didn't know lightships existed -- until yesterday, when I was reading about them on Wikipedia. And I mean of course Tom Scott would make a video about them literally the day after. Thanks, universe.

There are still Lightvessels around the UK coast, and, like the Lighthouses, they are all now automated. Trinity House is the authority that maintains these facilities. Payment for their upkeep is a toll levied by Trinity House on all large vessels using British Sovereign waters. The toll is called, unsurprisingly, 'Lights'. Twenty five years ago, I worked as a shipping agent for a company that ran a fleet of what would be seen today as small [8 - 10,000 tons] ships. Part of my job was to go to the local Customs house and pay this toll upon a ship's arrival. The payment was for inward and outward voyages, and was usually in the region of sixteen to twenty thousand pounds. Money well spent, methinks.

Thanks for the closed captioning, Tom. I'm nearly deaf and struggle to understand you sometimes. This is so, so helpful.

Lightships were fairly common along the german coast at least during the better part of the 20th century. Some of them survived and at least one of them was in it's career sunk, raised and later rebuild as a tall ship for civilian sail training. (In fact, you may know her, as she was heaviliy featured in commercials for a certain beer brand. She only retired in 2011, after 105 years in service. In german these ships are called Feuerschiff which translastes as "fire ship"

The story about lightships being dangerous sitting ducks in fog came true in May 1934, when Titanic's sister ship, Olympic, rammed and sank the Nantucket Lightship off Cape Cod whilst aiming for the lightship's radio beacon in thick fog. A few months earlier the same lightship was sideswiped by another vessel.

"Lightship" is a really cool term, just in and of itself.

Funny the gentleman mentioned the risk of ships running into the lightship. On May 15, 1934, the RMS Olympic, sister ship of the infamous Titanic, was making her way into New York through thick fog when she collided with the Nantucket Lightship, slicing it clean in half. Of the lightship's crew of 11, 7 were rescued by the Olympic and taken to New York, though sadly 3 died of their injuries.

Thanks for reminding us of the essential work the lightships have been doing for many years.

Quite possibly the coolest name ever for any vessel: the Lightship Ambrose. Wish I'd thought of it first.

We had a lightship that was moored in the River Medway in Kent, it's since been turned into a super-cool art gallery.

I got to see the ground tackle on the Swiftsure lightship at the Center for Wooden Boats by squeeing at the "adorable little" ground tackle on Virginia V. The docent was amused and enjoyed having a pro mariner on the tour, and took me aboard the off-limits lightship to see the winch for the huge mushroom anchor. It's installed crooked by design, because it's so big.

In Gillingham, Medway, Kent, there is LV21. Its a big red lighthouse boat. Other side of the shore in Hoo, there are many lighthouse boats morred up. May be worth going there,

If you listen to the extended Shipping Forecast (0048), there are inshore reports from Sandettie Lightvessel Automatic, Greenwich Lightvessel Automatic and Channel Lightvessel Automatic. www.trinityhouse.co.uk/lighthouses/light_vessels/index.html

indeed, they are quite common even though quite redundant and fully automated these days around the east coast of England, there's a fleet of them being towed in and out of harwich Harbour by trinity house, there's even a museum one parked up on harwich Quay

There are lots of lightships still in the UK. I regularly stay in one which is beached in the Thames Estuary in essex, it has been bought by a charity which uses it as a hub to do water sports (mainly sailing) off of, the charity is called FACT, google them! I also saw another one with a very similar design docked in Portsmouth which I have pictures of :)

There is a lighthouse ship called the “Relief” that was struck and sunk by a ship coming through the channel in foggy conditions. Myself and many other have dove on this ship.

There's a lightship much closer to home you could have talked about. The varne lightship in the English Chanel, unmanned now, but still operational.

"Between 2005 and 2008 the former Danish lightship "Lightship X" (Ten) was moored on the west dock [in St Katherines Dock, London], and used as a restaurant, before returning to Denmark."

I've been on the Chesapeake lightship in Baltimore, it's pretty impressive

I've herd these lighthouse boats existing from the old TV show known as TUGS, all episodes are up on youtube.

Very cool ***** My husband is a sailor in the merchant navy - I will check his "general knowledge" :P

I didn't realise they were that rare... There's one that's usually moored outside Sainsbury's on the Sharpness Canal near here.

There's a pair quite near Harwich, when I did my competent crew I was told to use one as a mark

How do you manage to be the only channel that I directly receive notifications for on my phone? I think this would be a good topic to investigate

We used to have one in Swansea and there is still a rusty old one in the river at Neath.

Could have saved yourself a trip to New York there Tom, there's one in Hull too. She's called Spurn.

There is a disused lightship in Southampton still. It was on display on land outside a cinema and a Tesco. XD

The Titanic's sister ship the RMS Olympic collided with a light ship in heavy fog in 1935 and sank it killing everyone on the lightship. Dangerous work.

Cardiff bay has a light house ship

There is a museum lightship in my hometown of Emden in northern Germany. Also the "Peking" is now in Hamburg germany as a museum :)

There's a lightship in Hull that does tours.

I had no idea this existed. This is pretty cool.

I did know this one, still a good video though. The Lightship SS Relief is docked near Jack London Square in Oakland CA and is open for tours. I highly recommend it to anyone on the other coast from this video.

Amusing now there's another lightship in New York, at the frying pan restauraunt. On the other side of Manhattan, a lot further up the coast, but its thre.

I live right there and I have been on that shio! How have I not found this until now?

I was tricked into believing the lighthouse was levitating 😂

There are lightships in Sunless Sea, that's cool.

There’s one of these in Harwich. They don’t use it any more and I think it’s a museum

D.C. looks so cool at night.

i think australia has one of these? (HMS Carpentaria)

We also have one of these in the harbour of Antwerp if I'm not mistaken.

You should have paid a visit to the Lightship John Sebastian when you were over in Bristol!

I did not know this. Wonderful!

There is one of those in East Yorkshire

So they couldn't put foundations down to build the lighthouse on... but they can now? I had no idea that they could...

Isn't there one in Cleethorpes

those captions are ALMOST neccessary =P

But wasn't the Statue of Liberty a lighthouse in the beginning? Now, correct me if I'm wrong, but Liberty Island is located slap-bang in the middle of the channel right? So why the need for a lightship, effectively making it two lighthouses there? Or were the lightships just used further out perhaps, where the "Liberty lighthouse" didn't reach?

Hey Tom. Could you do another sci-short. I don't not what about but there great! :)

Well, time to add some lightships to our D&D world.

There's one of these in Cardiff

heh! I love how British you sound when speaking to that other bloke!!

Theres one in Hull.

Watch the video, "US Navy Ship vs the lighthouse" It's your call, mate. "USS Abraham Lincoln vs lighthouse" is very good.

theres one of those in portsmouth

Interesting... as always

There's one in Baltimore

but what if the lightship can't find land

There is a floating lighthouse in hull

As far as i know this is the sister lighthouse to Statue of Liberty

This is nothing special. Here in Hamburg, Germany we also have one that isnt in use anymore.

A sock over the microphone helps....

CI.

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