Lighthouses of Myanmar (Burma)

Burma, as it was called for many years, became a British colony as a result of a series of colonial campaigns between 1826 and 1886. Governed until 1937 as a part of the British Empire of India, the country became independent in 1948. A military junta took control in 1988 and changed the country's name to Myanmar. Civil unrest and international sanctions have made the nation unattractive or dangerous for foreign tourists; as a result we know little of the fate of the magnificent lighthouses built in British Burma. (It doesn't help that none of the historic lighthouses are accessible without boat transportation.) Current information and photos are badly needed.

Some of the information on this page comes from Ken Trethewey's study Lighthouses of Asia. Missing from the Internet for several years, this work has been reposted at Pharology.eu. Plans for these lighthouses were drawn by the famous Scottish lighthouse engineer Alan Stevenson and his younger brothers David and Thomas.

On 2-3 May 2008, the central coast of Myanmar was devastated by Tropical Cyclone Nargis. We do not know if the cyclone damaged the Alguada Reef Light or any of the other lighthouses.

Aids to navigation in Myanmar are maintained by the Myanmar Port Authority (MPA), an agency of the Ministry of Transport.

ARLHS numbers are from the ARLHS World List of Lights. Admiralty numbers are from volume F of the Admiralty List of Lights & Fog Signals. U.S. NGA List numbers are from Publication 112.

General Sources
Pharology - Burma
Tretheway's account of early lighthouse development in Burma.
Leuchttürme Asiens, Australiens, und Ozeaniens auf historischen Postkarten
Historic postcard views posted by Klaus Huelse.

Green Island Light
Green Island Light, Kyaikkami, January 2011
photo copyright Andreas Köhler; used by permission
Coco Islands Lighthouse
Table Island (Coco Islands)
1867. Active (?); focal plane 59 m (194 ft); four white flashes every 25 s. 27 m (92 ft) cast iron tower with lantern and gallery, painted with red and white horizontal bands. Two 1-story brick keeper's houses and other light station buildings. No photo available, but Google has a fine satellite view. There is no sign that the station is occupied. The Coco Islands are an extension northward of the Andaman Islands, which are administered by India; British colonial authorities transferred them to Burma in 1882. In 1953, India sought to lease the light station in order to better protect shipping in the Bay of Bengal, but Burma rejected this proposal. The islands are uninhabited, but the Burmese Navy maintains a small base on Great Coco Island. According to various sources, China has leased facilities on the islands; the government of Myanmar denies this. The islands are attached administratively to the Yangon Region. Located on Table Island, the northernmost of the islands, about 3 km (2 mi) north of Great Coco Island and 250 km (150 mi) south southwest of the Irrawaddy Delta on the mainland. Accessible only by boat. Site status unknown, but almost certainly closed to casual visitors. ARLHS MYA-018; Admiralty F1200; NGA 26564.

Tanintharyi Region (Southern Burma) Lighthouses
Pulau Palin
Date unknown. Active; focal plane about 20 m (66 ft); white flash every 5 s. 16 m (52 ft) square skeletal tower. No photo available, but Google has a satellite view. This light marks the northern entrance to the Pak Chan estuary, which forms the border between Thailand and Myanmar. Located at the southeastern tip of Pulau Palin, an island about 10 km (6 mi) east of Kawthong, the southernmost town in Myanmar. Accessible only by boat. Site status unknown. Admiralty F1158; NGA 26570.
* Seikkantha (Myeik, Mergui Harbour)
Date unknown. Actove; focal plane 15 m (49 ft); quick-flashing white light. 19 m (62 ft) tower, described by NGA as a "white square wooden structure surmounted by a steel trestle" with a ball topmark. No photo available, but Google has a satellite view. Mergui is the largest port in southern Myanmar; it was formerly a Thai outpost, but the British annexed it to Burma in 1826. Located at the water's edge on the Myeik waterfront, north of Mergui. Site appears to be open, tower closed. Admiralty F1144; NGA 26576.
Mibya Kyun (Reef Island, Tavoy River)
1883. Active; focal plane 94 m (308 ft); white flash every 5 s. 9 m (30 ft) square masonry tower with a "round lantern," according to NGA. Lighthouse painted white. No photo available, but Google has a satellite view. Located in southern Myanmar, on the west side of the entrance to the Tavoy estuary. Accessible only by boat. Site status unknown. ARLHS MYA-009; Admiralty F1132; NGA 26584.

Mon State Lighthouses
Double Island
1865. Active; focal plane 43 m (141 ft); white flash every 15 s. 20 m (66 ft) brick tower with lantern and gallery, mounted on a granite base. Lighthouse painted white. No photo available; a sketch appears at the right, and Google has a very distant satellite view. The British engineers shipped brick from Singapore for this lighthouse, which guides ships toward the Moulmein River entrance to the north. Located on a small island about 11 km (7 mi) offshore and about 25 km (15 mi) south of Kyaikkami, on the approach to the Irrawaddy from the south. Accessible only by boat. Site status unknown. ARLHS MYA-004; Admiralty F1128; NGA 26592.

image from NGA Publication 173
Green Island (Amherst Point)
1903. Active; focal plane 41 m (135 ft); two white flashes every 10 s. 20 m (66 ft) masonry tower, painted with red and white horizontal bands. 1-story keeper's house and other light station buildings. A photo by Andreas Köhler is at the top of this page, and Google has a satellite view. Köhler visited the station in January 2011 and found it in good condition and staffed by a team of keepers. The lighthouse marks the entrance to the Moulmein River from the Gulf of Martaban. Located on a small island close to shore at Kyaikkami, a temple and resort town known as Amherst during the colonial period. Accessible only by boat. Site open, tower open by arrangement with the keepers. ARLHS MYA-006; Admiralty F1126; NGA 26596.

Yangon (Rangoon) Region Lighthouses
Eastern Grove Flats (?)
1869. Active (?); focal plane 28 m (92 ft); white light, 4 s on, 2 s off. 32 m (105 ft) cast iron skeletal tower with lantern and gallery, mounted on a screwpile foundation. Lighthouse painted red, lantern painted black and white. No photo available, which is really too bad, since British examples of lighthouses of this type are rare. Since shipping no longer makes much use of the Eastern Channel to Yangon, it seems unlikely that this lighthouse is maintained, and so far it has not been located in Google satellite imagery. Located on the east side of the entrance to the Yangon River estuary leading to Yangon (Rangoon), the capital of the country. Accessible only by boat. Site status unknown. ARLHS MYA-005; Admiralty F1088; NGA 26620.
Yangon (Rangoon) Lightships
Flickr.com has photos of two unidentified lightships in the Yangon (Rangoon) River. One vessel has a large skeletal light tower and the second has a cylindrical light mast. Jeffrey Mudaliar has a closeup photo of the first vessel. There is also a photo of two more lightships, taken in November 2010 (1/10 the way down a long page of photos); one of these lightships is marked for the Thuriya station (ARLHS MYA-020) southwest of Alguada Reef and the other is marked for the Dagon station (ARLHS MYA-003) on the approaches to Yangon. Information on all these vessels is needed.

Ayeyarwady Region Lighthouse
Alguada Reef (Pathein)
1865. Active; focal plane 44 m (144 ft); white flash every 10 s. 49 m (161 ft) tapered granite tower with lantern and gallery, incorporating keeper's quarters, painted with black and white horizontal bands. No current photo available; a drawing of the lighthouse is at right, and a photo taken around 1900 shows it painted with the black and white bands. Surely one of the most impressive lighthouses ever built in Britain's empire, this tower was based on Alan Stevenson's design for the Skerryvore lighthouse in Scotland. It took six years to build, since construction was only possible during the winter monsoon. The lighthouse was strafed by U.S. aircraft in March 1943. Located at the end of a long reef in the Bay of Bengal extending from Cape Negrais, the southwestern tip of Myanmar. Accessible only by boat. Site and tower closed. ARLHS MYA-001; Admiralty F1068; NGA 26688.
Thamhihla Kyun (Diamond Island)
Date unknown. Active; focal plane 24 m (79 ft); white flash every 4 s. 12 m (39 ft) skeletal tower, painted with red and white horizontal bands. No photo available; Google has a distant satellite view. Located on an island off Cape Negrais, marking the entrance to the Bassein River. Accessible only by boat. Site and tower closed. Admiralty F1070; NGA 26692.

Rakhine State Lighthouses
Mun Aung (Beacon Island)
Date unknown (station established 1909). Active; focal plane 37 m (121 ft); white flash every 5 s. 36 m (118 ft) tower, described by NGA only as a red tower with a white top. No photo available, but Google has a fuzzy satellite view. Located on a small island about 8 km (5 mi) northwest of the northwestern point of Cheduba Island and roughly 150 km (90 mi) south of Sittwe. Accessible only by boat. Site status unknown. ARLHS MYA-010; Admiralty F1064; NGA 26724.
Alguada Reef Light
Alguada Reef Light pictured in the Ilustrated London News
October 21, 1865; scan courtesy of Michel Forand
Thanta (North Terrible Rock)
Date unknown. Active; focal plane 16.5 m (54 ft); white flash every 8 s. 14 m (46 ft) square skeletal tower, painted with black and white horizontal bands. No photo available, but Google has a fuzzy satellite view. Located on an isolated rock off Kyaukphyu, about 80 km (50 mi) southeast of Sittwe. Accessible only by boat. Site and tower closed. Admiralty F1063; NGA 26728.
Savage Island (Laychindaung, Great Savage Island, Fakir Point, Aracan) (2)
1891 (station established 1844). Inactive, apparently since the 1980s. 21 m (69 ft) round stone tower; lantern removed. Christoph Ulleweit has a fuzzy view from the sea, David Stewart has a fuzzy distant view, Huelse has a historic postcard view, and Google has a satellite view. Michel Forand has a historic postcard view of Myanmar's first lighthouse (called Fakir Point), built here in 1844 by Lieutenant Siddons of the Royal Engineers. It's very possible that the 1844 tower still stands, since the Google satellite view shows a smaller tower next to the tall one. The current condition of the second light is completely unknown, but the sailing directions for this coast (NGA Publication 173) mention it as a landmark. The lighthouse was probably deactivated in favor of the Sittwe light (next listing). Located on a small island off the south side of the entrance to Sittwe (formerly Aracan). Accessible only by boat. Site status unknown. ARLHS MYA-022.
Sittwe (1)
Date unknown. Inactive. Approx. 7 m (23 ft) round concrete tower, originally painted with narrow black and white horizontal bands. A stairway winds around the tower, and the lantern has been replaced by a covered observation deck. Sheila Simkin has a photo (halfway down the page), the tower can been be seen in the background of Tun Lin Aung's view from the sea, and Google has a satellite view. Located about 80 m (260 ft) north of the active light (next entry).
Sittwe (2)
Date unknown. Active; focal plane 27 m (89 ft); white flash every 10 s. 27 m (89 ft) square pyramidal skeletal tower with gallery and a small lantern, painted white. Tun Lin Aung has a view from the sea, Michel Forand has a historic postcard view, and Google has a satellite view. Located on a sharp point on the north side of the entrance to Sittwe. Site status unknown. ARLHS MYA-017; Admiralty F1059; NGA 26744.
Mayu (Oyster Island)
1885. Active; focal plane 40 m (131 ft); white or red light, depending on direction, 10 s on, 5 s off. 43 m (141 ft) round cast iron tower with lantern and gallery (originally, at least). Lighthouse painted with black and white horizontal bands. No current photo available; Sgt. Lister Walker's 1942 photo is at right. The island is only a blur in Google's satellite view. This lighthouse was repaired after being damaged by Cyclone Mala in 2006. The Burmese Navy staffs this station. Located about 25 km (15 mi) southwest of Magyichaung in westernmost Myanmar. Accessible only by boat. Site and tower closed. ARLHS MYA-012; Admiralty F1058; NGA 26748.
Oyster Island Light
Oyster Island Light in 1942
photo by Sgt. Lister Walker, 113 Squadron, Royal Air Force
courtesy of Kevin Krawford; all rights reserved

Information available on lost lighthouses:

Notable faux lighthouses:

Adjoining pages: North: Bangladesh | Southeast: Thailand Southwest Coast | South: Andaman and Nicobar Islands

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Posted February 20, 2006. Checked and revised December 13, 2011. Lighthouses: 16; lightships: 4. Site copyright 2011 Russ Rowlett and the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill.