with layovers at San Francisco, San Pedro, Balboa, Navassa, Charleston, and Portsmouth (VA); made the 5,892 mile passage from Portland (OR) to New York via Panama Canal - first US lightship to make a West to East Coast transit

Station Fire Island (NY)

during WWII, assigned to 3d district stationed at Bay Shore (NY) used as examination vessel

Station Diamond Shoal (NC)

Station Relief (1st District)

Station Pollock Rip (MA)

Station Portland (ME)

decommissioned, planned to be used as Coast Guard mobile museum but not so used

designated to be a National Historic Landmark

2006

For the last 30 years lightship No. 114 has been languishing at a mooring in New Bedford harbor and has suffred from as many years of neglect. It is berthed at the Commonwealth Electric Pier in New Bedford and is owned by the City of New Bedford. The last 3 mayors of the city have pledged to "save" the lightship with promises to convert it into a first class public attraction, but all promises have gone unfullfilled

the vessel rolled on its side due to a leak in the hull

September 2006

the vessel has been righted, and the City of New Bedford is currently considering various options - to sell it for scrap is one of them. Plans to sell the lightship on an auction (September 26th, 2006) failed - so let´s wait and see.

The City of New Bedford took the unprecedented step to auction off the US Lightship New Bedford on eBay, stripped of all items of historical value, for three days from December 5th to December 8th, 2006. Starting bid was 99,99 Dollar. A sorry tale indeed. I wish someone had the where-to-fore to secure this ship and see her made whole again. The lightship was sold for 1,775 US Dollar on December 8th, 2006.

The lightship is still in New Bedford.

The Lightship New Bedford will soon be nothing more than a scrap pile. The city recently agreed to sell the 76-year-old, rusted and dilapidated vessel for $10,000 to Sea Roy Enterprises Inc., a New Bedford firm. Conray Roy, the firm's owner, plans to scrap the lightship. "It's in such deplorable condition, it's only good for scrap," he said. "If the city wanted this thing, they should have done something 20 years ago with it." The lightship's condition has deteriorated since it nearly sank in its berth last June. The city spent $212,000 to right the ship and clean it after an open portal let in too much water during a heavy thunderstorm, nearly sinking it. The City Council Property Committee tried to sell the lightship several times last year. An initial public auction in September failed to draw a single bidder willing to pay $10,000. Bidding in that auction opened at $25,000, but fell when buyers balked at assuming the liability for removing the ship's historical artifacts, a condition of the sale. The artifacts — 20 in all — included portholes, a beacon, fog horns and the ship's whistle. The city removed the items and is now storing them. In December, the property committee posted the lightship on eBay. Sea Roy Enterprises placed the highest bid at $1,775. Hesitant to accept the eBay bid, city officials attempted to sell the lightship to other scrap yards, but found no bidders. The city, determined to rid itself of a derelict vessel that had become a liability, negotiated a new deal with Sea Roy Enterprises. "Our goal was to get max value for the ship, but at the same time we didn't want to be saddled with this for too long because of the continued liability," said City Councilor Joe DeMedeiros, a former property committee member actively involved in the city's sales efforts. "We got a fairer price for the ship," he said. "Still, it's nowhere near the amount we would need to recoup from righting the ship when it went in the water." Mr. DeMedeiros said the city had varied estimates for the lightship's scrap metal value that ranged from $50,000 to well over $100,000. Mr. Roy was skeptical, considering the ship could not even draw $2,000 on eBay. The city "basically accused me of trying to steal the thing," Mr. Roy said. "If I was trying to steal it, why didn't anyone bid higher than me? I've been trying to help the city out. The problem is they don't appreciate it." Mr. Roy said he will meet Monday with the Coast Guard for tow-plan approval to remove the lightship from New Bedford Harbor. Since the vessel is considered unmaneuverable by conventional means, it requires towing under Coast Guard and federal regulations. Mr. Roy has 14 days from his plan's approval to remove the lightship. The vessel, the former Pollock Rip Lightship, will likely be nothing more than a memory by mid-June.

Article by Brian Farga www.southcoasttoday.com

See the lightship being scrapped on this photo at a scrapyard in New Bedford, just up the river where it was previously sitting.

If anyone has news, I would be grateful for an e-mail.