GUARDIANS OF THE LIGHT
Dedicated to safeguarding shipping and seafarers, as well as providing education, support and welfare to the seafaring community, Trinity House – a private corporation and charity – was incorporated in 1514 not only to regulate pilotage on the River Thames, but also to provide for aged mariners.
Its duties have expanded considerably since then, to include looking after the network of lighthouses around England, Wales, the Channel Islands and Gibraltar, plus inspecting and auditing over 11,000 aids to navigation around our coastline. As a result, the corporation has gained a high degree of familiarity with the channels, hazards and currents in the waters of England and Wales.
Trinity House currently has three vessels in operation: THVs , and . , with a top speed of 17 knots, performs many functions, but was originally designed to undertake buoy handling, wreck marking, towing, and multibeam and side-scan hydrographic surveying. The 276ft state-of-the-art vessel boasts many other features, including carrying highspecification survey equipment.
