Victoria lighthouse suffers structural damage |16 January 2007

Following an on-site inspection of the tower yesterday by a delegation of top officials from the Ports Authority, it was revealed that work to repair the damage will start soon.

Among the members of the delegation was the chief executive officer of the Ports Authority, Lieutenant Colonel Andre Ciseau, who said that the authority intends to repair the damage to the structure as rapidly as possible, to prevent further deterioration.

He remarked that the repair work is of great exigency as the Victoria lighthouse is of paramount importance to vessels entering and leaving Port Victoria, as well as for air traffic using the international airport at Pointe Larue.

He noted that on a clear day, vessels and local fishermen spot and uses the lighthouse for direction from as far as 16,000 km out at sea.

According to CEO Ciseau, the damage caused to the supporting structure of the lighthouse tower is minor at this point and should take the authority less than a month to have it repaired.

He also noted that the lighthouse has not suffered any functional damage, and that all equipment remain operational for the moment. 

Dating back to 1872, the Victoria lighthouse was commissioned by Frank Lane, the Chief Civil Commissioner at the time. It functioned by means of kerosene lights for the first 50 years of its existence, before it underwent a complete overhaul in 1925.

According to the department of National Heritage, the 35-foot high masonry tower (Victoria Lighthouse) is being considered as a potential national monument.