THV Galatea is a lighthouse tender

Lighthouse tender

A lighthouse tender is a ship specifically designed to maintain, support, or tend to lighthouses, or lightvessels, providing supplies, fuel, mail and transportation....

 operated by Trinity House

Trinity House

The Corporation of Trinity House of Deptford Strond is the official General Lighthouse Authority for England, Wales and other British territorial waters...

, the body responsible for the operation of lighthouse

Lighthouse

A lighthouse is a tower, building, or other type of structure designed to emit light from a system of lamps and lenses or, in older times, from a fire, and used as an aid to navigation for maritime pilots at sea or on inland waterways....

s and marine navigation aids around the coasts of England

England

England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Scotland to the north and Wales to the west; the Irish Sea is to the north west, the Celtic Sea to the south west, with the North Sea to the east and the English Channel to the south separating it from continental...

, Wales

Wales

Wales is a country that is part of the United Kingdom and the island of Great Britain, bordered by England to its east and the Atlantic Ocean and Irish Sea to its west. It has a population of three million, and a total area of 20,779 km²...

 and the Channel Islands

Channel Islands

The Channel Islands are an archipelago of British Crown Dependencies in the English Channel, off the French coast of Normandy. They include two separate bailiwicks: the Bailiwick of Guernsey and the Bailiwick of Jersey...

.

History

THV Galatea was launched in July 2006, replacing the THV Mermaid, in service with Trinity House since 1987. Mermaid was sold to Gardline of Great Yarmouth, for conversion to survey vessel. Galatea is a sister vessel to the NLV Pharos

NLV Pharos

NLV Pharos is a lighthouse tender operated by the Northern Lighthouse Board , the body responsible for the operation of lighthouses and marine navigation aids around the coasts of Scotland and the Isle of Man.-History:...

. The Queen and Prince Philip visited the Pool of London on 17 October 2007 for the naming of THV Galatea, moored alongside .

This is the second Trinity House vessel named Galatea. The first, a paddle yacht built in 1868, served Trinity House until 1895. She was named in honour of which had recently completed a round-the-world voyage under the command of Queen Victoria's

Victoria of the United Kingdom

Victoria was the monarch of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland from 20 June 1837 until her death. From 1 May 1876, she used the additional title of Empress of India....

 second son, Captain HRH The Duke of Edinburgh

Alfred, Duke of Saxe-Coburg and Gotha

Alfred, Duke of Saxe-Coburg and Gotha was the third Duke of Saxe-Coburg and Gotha, and reigned from 1893 to 1900. He was also a member of the British Royal Family, the second son and fourth child of Queen Victoria and Prince Albert of Saxe-Coburg and Gotha...

, who was Master of Trinity House at the time. Galatea attended the commissioning of Eddystone

Eddystone Lighthouse

Eddystone Lighthouse is on the treacherous Eddystone Rocks, south west of Rame Head, United Kingdom. While Rame Head is in Cornwall, the rocks are in Devon and composed of Precambrian Gneiss....

, Wolf

Wolf Rock, Cornwall

Wolf Rock is a treacherous rock located east of St Mary's, Isles of Scilly and southwest of Land's End, in Cornwall, United Kingdom. A lighthouse, known as the Wolf Rock Lighthouse, was built on the rock by James Walker from 1861 to 1869; it entered service in January 1870.The lighthouse is in...

 and other lighthouses designed by Sir James Douglass

James Nicholas Douglass

Sir James Nicholas Douglass, FRS, , was an English civil engineer, a prolific lighthouse builder and designer, most famous for the design and construction of the fourth Eddystone Lighthouse, for which he was knighted....

. THV Galatea featured in the 2008 BBC Documentary Comedy, Three Men in a Boat

Three Men in a Boat (TV Series)

Three Men in a Boat is a television comedy/documentary series produced by Liberty Bell Productions for BBC Two starring Dara Ó Briain, Rory McGrath and Griff Rhys Jones, first shown in January 2006...

, where Dara O Brian, Rory McGrath and Griff Rhys jones used the vessel to get to the Scilly isles.

In Greek mythology, Galatea

Galatea (mythology)

-Name "Galatea":Though the name "Galatea" has become so firmly associated with Pygmalion's statue as to seem antique, its use in connection with Pygmalion originated with a post-classical writer. No extant ancient text mentions the statue's name...

was a sea nymph who attended Poseidon (the god of the sea). She loved Acis, the shepherd son of Pan. However, Acis was killed by the jealous Cyclops Polyphemus and, with her heart broken, Galatea turned into a stream of water.

Service

THV Galatea provides aids to navigation for the safe passage of mariners, including maintenance work, buoy deployment, wreck location marking and towing. She is also able to carry out additional tasks such as hydrographic surveying and wreck finding and contract commercial work. She is equipped for:

• hydrographic surveys including bathymetry, side scan, sonar and wreck investigations
• aids to navigation deployment, maintenance, repair and examination
• research platforms for deployment and recovery of scientific equipment
• sampling projects
• marine hazard search and marking
• lifting, towing and accurate positioning of marine equipment
• recovery and re-establishment of off-station aids to navigation
• sea trials of electronic and specialty equipment
• helicopter support
• safety boat assignments
• guard duties for cable and pipe laying projects

External links

Copyright image at Flickr