| Indonesia has been independent since 1945, after having been the Dutch East Indies for more than 350 years. It is a huge country, stretching along both sides of the Equator for more than 46 degrees of longitude (roughly 5100 km or 3200 miles). Comprised of some 17,000 islands (more than 6000 inhabited islands), it has hundreds of major aids to navigation. This page includes the lighthouses of Maluku (the Moluccas), the islands traditionally known in the West as the "Spice Islands." Maluku lies east of Sulawesi (Celebes), south of the Philippines, and west of New Guinea. The Portuguese established a settlements in the islands at Ambon in 1526. They were replaced in 1609 by the Dutch, who established a second colonial settlement at Ternate. Today Ambon is the capital of Maluku province, and Ternate was until recently the capital of North Ternate province. Photos of lighthouses in Maluku are extremely rare on the Internet. Please let me know if you have or can locate additional photos. Special thanks to Michel Forand for his research in support of this page. The Indonesian word for a lighthouse is mercusuar. The phrase menara suar, which includes the Arabic word menara, is sometimes used instead. Aids to navigation in Indonesia are operated and maintained by the Indonesian Directorate of Marine Navigation (Indomarinav). ARLHS numbers are from the ARLHS World List of Lights. Admiralty numbers are from volumes F and K of the Admiralty List of Lights & Fog Signals. U.S. NGA List numbers are from Publication 112.
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Maluku Province Lighthouses
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![]() Pulau Lakor Light, Leti Islands, November 2012 Panoramio photo copyright mas radiena; permission requested |
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![]() Dobo Light, June 2008 Panoramio Creative Commons photo by Martin Manurung; no longer on Panoramio but available through infoMaluku blog |
North Maluku Province Lighthouses
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![]() Tanjung Sopi Light, Pulau Morotai photo copyright Laszlo Wagner, East-Indonesia.info; used by permission |
Information available on lost lighthouses:
Notable faux lighthouses:
Adjoining pages: East: West Papua (West New Guinea) | South: Eastern Sundas | Southwest: Southern Sulawesi | West: Northern Sulawesi
Return to the Lighthouse Directory index | Ratings key
Posted December 31, 2008. Checked and revised February 6, 2013. Lighthouses: 53. Site copyright 2013 Russ Rowlett and the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill.