Nagapattinam Lighthouse

Nagapattinam in Thanjavur district is an important port of Tamilnadu. It is situated on the mouths of Kaduveiyaru river. The port has the glorious history. It is in existence since the 8th century, period of great Cholas. During those days a staff was provided on which flag used to be hoisted to enable vessels enter the port. There was a direct ship service from Nagapattinam to Penang (Malaysia) and Singapore. The famous MV Chidambaram was the vessel plying regularly till it was destroyed in a fire off Nagapattinam in 1970. First conventional 20 m high Lighthouse tower was built inside the port premises by the British in 1846. A wick lamp inside the 6th order optic was placed on this tower. The system worked till 1903 when a new equipment with 4th order optic and characteristic of occulting flashes was introduced. A storm warning signal hoisting mast was also erected in 1903. In 1923 complete renovation of lighthouse was carried out and the new PV equipment with 85 mm burner and first order optic assembly in two panels, revolving on mercury float was installed. The equipment was supplied by M/s. Chance Bros., Birmingham. This equipment worked up to 1985.The importance of Nagapattinam demanded improvement at continuous pace. In 1985 the PV equipment was replaced by PRB-21 equipment with sealed beam lamps supplied by M/s. ANA, New Delhi on 20th March 1985. The Radio beacon equipment (400 W) supplied by MACE, Visakhapatnam, transmitting on 295 kHz was installed at the station in 1992 and the ‘Tide land’ ‘Racon’ was installed on 3rd September 1996.In the year 1997 the sealed beam lamps have since been replaced by Auto head lamps. The DGPS equipment manufactured by M/s Leica Geo Systems, U.S.A. and supplied by M/s. Elcome Marine, Mumbai was integrated on 30th April 2003,converting Radio Beacon to DGPS station.