Lighthouses of Suriname

Suriname, the former Dutch Guiana, is an independent nation on the north coast of South America, located between Guyana to the west and French Guiana to the east. Although it was colonized first by the British, Suriname was conquered by the Netherlands in 1667 and remained a Dutch colony until it became independent in 1975. Remarkably, the shores of Suriname shelter the remains of three historic lightships. Thanks to Iris Klempau and Michel Forand for researching these vessels. ARLHS numbers are from the ARLHS World List of Lights. Admiralty numbers are from volume J of the Admiralty List of Lights & Fog Signals. U.S. NGA List numbers are from Publication 110. General Sources Online List of Lights - Suriname Photos by various photographers posted by Alex Trabas. Lighthouses Nickerie Rivier (?) Date unknown. Active (?); focal plane 22 m (72 ft); red flash every 5 s. 21 m (69 ft) tower, form unknown. No photo available, and clouds obscure Google's satellite view of the area. The light has been dropped from the NGA List as of 2011. Located on a point of land on the west side of the entrance to the Nickerie River, near Nieuw Nickerie in the northwestern corner of Suriname. Site status unknown. ARLHS SUR-005; Admiralty J6866; ex-NGA 17356. * Lightship Suriname 1 (Suriname Rivier) 1911 (station established 1858). Steel lightship with a round light tower, lantern and gallery. Ship painted red. Nicholas Laughlin's photo is at right, Jeffrey van der Wees has a 2009 photo, a closeup of the light tower is available, Vanessa Decort has a 2006 photo, and Google has a satellite view. Michel Forand has documented at least five light vessels known to have served the Suriname Rivier station off the entrance to Parimaribo, the national capital. This is believed to be the third. There is a historic photo (2/3 of the way down the page) of the ship, rigged as a sail-driven vessel, leaving the Netherlands for Suriname in 1911. The light tower was added after its arrival. Another photo page refers to the ship as the "lightship of New Amsterdam," as it is beached in the historic fort of Nieuw Amsterdam, on the east bank of the Suriname River opposite Paramaribo. Site open, vessel closed.

Lightship Suriname Rivier, April 2009 Flickr Creative Commons photo by Nicholas Laughlin

Lightship Suriname 2 (ex U.S. LV-106/WAL-528)

1923 (on station in Suriname from 1968). Decommissioned 1981. 40.3 m (132 ft) 2-masted steel lightship. According to the U.S. Coast Guard Historian's page, this ship served originally as the Nantucket. After World War II it was reassigned as a relief lightvessel until 1968, when it was sold to Suriname. Presently it is an abandoned hulk beached with its sister ship LV-109 on the Suriname River near the Overbridge Resort, about 50 km (30 mi) south of Paramaribo; a photo of the two ships is available, and a Google satellite view probably shows them. Accessible only by boat. Site open, vessel closed.

Lightship Suriname 3 (ex U.S. LV-109/WAL-531)

1923 (on station in Suriname from 1968). Decommissioned 1981. 40.3 m (132 ft) 2-masted steel lightship. According to the U.S. Coast Guard Historian's page, this ship served originally for 30 years as a relief lightvessel. In 1954 it was assigned as the Savannah, and it served briefly (1965-66) as the New Orleans. Presently it is an abandoned hulk beached with its sister ship LV-106 on the Suriname River near the Overbridge Resort, about 50 km (30 mi) south of Paramaribo; a photo of the two ships is available, and a Google satellite view probably shows them. Accessible only by boat. Site open, vessel closed.

Hoek Galibi (Maroni River) (3)

Date unknown (station established 1871). Active; focal plane 61 m (200 ft); white flash every 5 s. 60 m (197 ft) square skeletal tower, mounted on four concrete piers. Lighthouse painted with red and white horizontal bands. A distant view is available, and Google has a satellite view. The first lighthouse, a 21 m (69 ft) pyramidal tower, was replaced in 1897 by a 16 m (52 ft) hexagonal skeletal tower. A 1907 photo of that tower is available. There is a reference to the ruins of an old lighthouse at the station. Located at Hoek (Cape) Galibi on the west side of the entrance to the Maroni River, which forms the boundary between Suriname and French Guiana. Accessible only by boat. Site open, tower closed. ARLHS SUR-001; Admiralty J6882; NGA 17400.

Information available on lost lighthouses:

Notable faux lighthouses:

Adjoining pages: East: French Guiana | West: Guyana

Return to the Lighthouse Directory index | Ratings key

Posted November 30, 2006. Checked and revised January 4, 2013. Lighthouses: 2; lightships: 3. Site copyright 2013 Russ Rowlett and the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill.