A major refit has been completed on the Mid Channel Rock lighthouse, which has guided more than a billion tonnes of shipping over six decades into the Port of Milford Haven.
The multi-million-pound project, led by engineers at the Port of Milford Haven, involved a 25-tonne steel sleeve lowered over the tower and strengthened with infill to reinforce the structure.
One of the tripod legs that are drilled into the seabed to support the column was also reinforced and new electrical systems and weather monitoring equipment were fitted.
The Port of Milford Haven is the UK’s top energy port and Wales’ busiest port, handling around 20% of Britain’s seaborne trade in oil and gas. It is widely recognised in the industry as the energy capital of the UK.
The Mid Channel Rock lighthouse beacon is bedded on an undersea reef and is known to mariners as ‘the Pole’. It has endured Atlantic storms for around 60 years to warn ships of shallow rocks at the entrance to the Port of Milford Haven.
In recent years, it has also provided extensive weather and sea condition information to commercial and leisure sailors using the port.
Shan McGarty, the Port’s project manager leading the scheme, said: “This project has been long in the planning, taking several years to move from initial concept to completion due to the complexity of the task. Once works began they were delivered relatively swiftly despite the difficult working conditions we faced, including strong winds and heavy seas.”
