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United States lightship Nantucket (LV-112)
Encyclopedia
National Historic Landmark
A National Historic Landmark is a building, site, structure, object, or district, that is officially recognized by the United States government for its historical significance...
lightship
Lightvessel
A lightvessel, or lightship, is a ship which acts as a lighthouse. They are used in waters that are too deep or otherwise unsuitable for lighthouse construction...
that served at Lightship Nantucket
Lightship Nantucket
The Lightship Nantucket station was the name given to the lightvessel which marked the hazardous Nantucket Shoals in Massachusetts. Several ships have been commissioned and served at the Nantucket Shoals lightship station and have been called Nantucket...
position. It was the last serving lightship and at time of NHL application, one of only two capable of moving under their own power.
Her $300,000 cost, greater than that of any predecessor, was paid for by the White Star Line
White Star Line
The Oceanic Steam Navigation Company or White Star Line of Boston Packets, more commonly known as the White Star Line, was a prominent British shipping company, today most famous for its ill-fated vessel, the RMS Titanic, and the World War I loss of Titanics sister ship Britannic...
in compensation for the collision and sinking of a prior lightship
United States lightship LV-117
The Nantucket Lightship LV-117 was a lightvessel of the United States Lighthouse Service, operating off of Nantucket Shoals. She was operated for only three years, from 1931 to 1934, before she was sunk in a collision with the RMS Olympic, the sister-ship of the RMS Titanic. Seven of the eleven...
at the Nantucket lightship position by the RMS Olympic
RMS Olympic
RMS Olympic was the lead ship of the Olympic-class ocean liners built for the White Star Line, which also included Titanic and Britannic...
, a sister ship to the Titanic. Seven of 11 staffing the lightship were killed. LV-112, the permanent replacement, was built to be indestructible, and outlasted all others, serving until 1983.
She was declared a National Historic Landmark
National Historic Landmark
A National Historic Landmark is a building, site, structure, object, or district, that is officially recognized by the United States government for its historical significance...
in 1989. At that time the ship was primarily located in Maine, but touring along the New England Coast. An organization was seeking a permanent home for it in Portland, Maine
Portland, Maine
Portland is the largest city in Maine and is the county seat of Cumberland County. The 2010 city population was 66,194, growing 3 percent since the census of 2000...
.
She later was planned to be located permanently in Staten Island, New York but sojourned for several years at Oyster Bay, New York. Some controversy has arisen over damage to wharves and unsightliness at Oyster Bay; other locals have wanted her retained there.
She was purchased in October 2009 by the United States Lightship Museum (USLM) under the leadership of Robert Mannino, Jr. for $1 and arrived under tow in Boston Harbor on May 11, 2010. She will be restored in two phases over the next several years, a job that will cost $1 million. She is expected to be open to the public next spring.
Additional reading
- United States Coast Guard, Aids to Navigation, (Washington, DC: U. S. Government Printing Office, 1945).
- Putnam, George R., Lighthouses and Lightships of the United States, (Boston: Houghton Mifflin Co., 1933).