Editing Lightship (section)

===British lightships===

{{Main|List of lightvessels of Great Britain}}

[[Image:Calshot Spit Lightship.jpg|thumb|right|''[[Calshot Spit]]'' lightship on display at the [[Ocean Village, Southampton|Ocean Village]] marina, [[Southampton]]. The ship has since been moved to the [[Solent Sky]] museum, also in Southampton.]]
[[Image:Former_Breaksea_lightvessel.jpg|thumb|right|''Breaksea Light Vessel'' following a refit at [[Swansea]] in 1978.]]
In 1731, David Avery and Robert Hamblin placed the earliest British lightship at [[The Nore]] near the mouth of the [[River Thames]]. This was a private venture that operated profitably and without the need for government enforcement of payment for lighting services.<ref>Candela, Rosolino A. and Vincent J. Geloso (September 2018) "The lightship in economics", ''Public Choice'', Vol. 176, Issue 3–4, pp. 479–506.</ref>

Further vessels were placed off [[Norfolk]] in 1736, at [[Owers Bank]] in [[Sussex]] in 1788, and at the [[Goodwin Sands]] in 1793.<ref>{{cite book|last=Marcus|first=G.J.|title=Heart of Oak: A Survey of British Sea Power in the Georgian Era|publisher=Oxford University Press|year=1975|pages=[https://archive.org/details/heartofoaksurvey0000marc/page/53 53–54]|isbn=0192158120|url=https://archive.org/details/heartofoaksurvey0000marc/page/53}}</ref>

Over time, [[Trinity House]], the public authority charged with establishing and maintaining lighthouses in England and Wales, crowded out{{Colloquialism|date=May 2021}} the private light vessels. Trinity House is now responsible for all the remaining lightvessels England and Wales, of which there are currently eight unmanned lightvessels and two smaller [[light float]]s.<ref name=trinityhouse>[http://www.trinityhouse.co.uk/aids_to_navigation/the_task/index.html Aids to Navigation] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080828024502/http://www.trinityhouse.co.uk/aids_to_navigation/the_task/index.html |date=2008-08-28 }}, [[Trinity House]], accessed 02-09-08</ref>

In the 1930s, "crewless lightships" were proposed as a way to operate a light vessel for six to twelve months without a crew.<ref>[https://books.google.com/books?id=fvEDAAAAMBAJ&dq=popular+mechanics+1932+protecting+the+world%27s&pg=PA856 "Crewless Lightship Is New Flying Dutchman"] ''Popular Mechanics'', December 1932</ref>

The first lightvessel conversion to [[solar power]] was made in 1995, and all vessels except the '20 class' have now been converted. The '20 class' is a slightly larger type of vessel that derives its power from diesel electric generators. Where a main light with a visible range in excess of 20 nautical miles (37&nbsp;km) is required, a '20 class' vessel is used, as the main light from a Trinity House solar lightvessel has a maximum range of 19 nautical miles (35&nbsp;km).

Hull numbers: 19, 22, 23 and 25 (the 20 class); 2, 5, 6, 7, 9, 10, 17 (solar lightvessels); and LF2 and LF3 (solar lightfloats).

The [[Spurn Lightship]], operated by the Humber Conservancy Board, was launched in 1927 and served for 48 years. It is now preserved as a [[museum ship]] and is moored at [[Kingston upon Hull|Hull]] marina.