Lighthouse ships take part in Scapa commemorations

THE ships servicing Scotland’s lighthouses will take part in events to commemorate the centenary of the scuttling of the German High Seas Fleet in Scapa Flow this week, and will also be open to the public at the weekend.

The Northern Lighthouse Board vessels Pharos and Pole Star will be part of the flotilla which will gather on Friday, June 21, to mark the moment when the vessels were scuttled, and remember the German lives lost during the period of the internment and the scuttling of the vessels.

Mike Bullock, chief executive of the Northern Lighthouse Board said: “We are honoured that Pharos and Pole Star will be participating in the commemorations to mark this historic and poignant event and delighted to be given the opportunity to reaffirm the already strong relationship between the Northern Lighthouse Board and the people of Orkney.”

Both vessels will be open to the public from 1pm to 4pm on Saturday when visitors will have a chance to meet the crew, have a tour of the ships and find out more about the work of the Northern Lighthouse Board. Pharos will be berthed in Kirkwall and Pole Star in Stromness.

The roles of the ships are to deploy and maintain buoys and be ready to respond to wrecks and new dangers to navigation. Pharos is able to carry a helicopter and delivers materials to lighthouses for normal operations as well as during major refurbishment and engineering projects.

Both vessels also carry our work for other government departments and commercial organisations such as hydrographic surveying, deployment of buoys and scientific instruments. In addition Pharos is regularly used in support of the NATO submarine rescue system.

• Stromness Lifeboat is also open to the public on Saturday, 1pm-4pm and there are a host of other events on in relation to the scuttling of the German High Seas Fleet, which can be found online at: www.facebook.com/scapa100