Channel Lightvessel
Channel Lightvessel was the name of a lightvessel station located in the English Channel between 1979 and August 2021, when it was replaced with a lighted buoy. It is also one of the 22 coastal weather stations whose conditions are reported in the BBC Shipping Forecast – the weather station is still announced as Channel Lightvessel Automatic despite being replaced by the buoy as of 2026. The vessel's position was approximately north-northwest of Guernsey.
The lightvessel marked the western end of the English Channel Traffic Separation Zone.
Signals
The light, on a tower, had a range of about 15 miles, and flashed for.3 seconds every 15 seconds. The fog signal gave a single 2 second blast every 20 seconds. The agile radio beacon transmitted the letter "O" in morse code on X band and S band frequencies for nine seconds every thirty seconds.History
The Channel lightvessel was established in 1979 as part of the Off Casquets Traffic Separation Scheme, introduced following the 1978 grounding of the Amoco Cadiz. The lightvessel was intended to give clear definition to the TSS, as such schemes were at the time a new feature, rather than marking a physical hazard to navigation.In May 2021 it was announced that the vessel would be replaced by a Type 1 buoy in August 2021. In August 2021 Trinity House stated that the replacement had been completed, with the Channel Lighted Buoy being deployed by THV Galatea. The light vessel was towed away by THV Patricia.