- Note: Perim (now called Mayyun) is a small island in a very strategic location at the southern
entrance to the Bab el Mendab strait. Britain occupied the island in
1857 to protect its sea connections to India, and subsequently attached
the island to its Aden Protectorate. For many years the island was a
coaling station for ships bound to or from the Orient.
- Balfe Point
- 1888. Active; focal plane 13 m (43 ft); white flash every 4 s. 8 m
(26 ft) square cylindrical stone tower, unpainted. Klinksiek's photo appears at
right, and Google has a satellite
view. Located on the western point of the island. Accessible only
by boat. Site and tower closed. ARLHS YEM-007; Admiralty E6152; NGA
30896.
- Perim High (2)
- 1912 (station established 1861). Active; focal plane 85 m (279 ft);
four white flashes every 15 s. 25 m (82 ft) round stone tower with
lantern and gallery. The tower is unpainted; lantern painted white.
Klinksiek's photo appears at right, a and Google
has a good satellite
view. The University of Queensland has a rare 1883 photo
of the island showing the original lighthouse, a 12 m (39 ft) tower
on a keeper's house. Located on the highest point of the island. Accessible
only by boat. Site and tower closed. ARLHS YEM-004; Admiralty E6150;
NGA 30900.
Red Sea Islands Lighthouses
Note: These lighthouses are built on volcanic islands a little east
of the centerline of the southern Red Sea, between Yemen and Eritrea.
The original lighthouses were built by a French company under a concession
granted by the Ottoman Turkish Emperor. In December 1914, early in World
War I, the islands were occupied by British forces. Following the war,
the European powers decided not to decide who should own the islands,
leaving sovereignty undetermined. After the end of the colonial period,
Yemen claimed the islands, as did Eritrea after it became independent
of Ethiopia in 1993. The countries agreed to binding arbitration, and
in 1999 the Permanent Court of Arbitration at The Hague awarded the
lighthouse islands to Yemen. They are governed as part of the Al Hudaydah Governate.- Hanish Al Kubra
- 2005. Active; focal plane 200 m (656 ft); white flash every 5 s. 6
m (20 ft) round hourglass-shaped fiberglass tower, painted with red
and white horizontal bands. A photo is available (second photo on the page), and Bing has an indistinct satellite view that probably shows the lighthouse. The light failed shortly after installation, was relit in 2007, but was again out oif service in late 2008. Located near the southwest
tip of Hanish Al Kubra, the largest of the Hanish
Islands. Accessible
only by boat. Site and tower closed. Admiralty E6142.92.
- Abu
Ail (Abu Ali, Quoin Island) (2)
- 1903. Active; focal plane 104 m (341 ft); two white flashes every
10 s. 9 m (30 ft) round cylindrical tower with lantern and gallery,
centered on the roof of a square 1-story keeper's house. It appears
that the light may have been moved to a mast atop the lantern. Lighthouse
painted white. Klinksiek's photo appears below right,
Alain Guyomard and Robert Carceller have posted photos
by Alain Faron, distant 2008 view (misidentified as the Perim lighthouse) is available, a view from the sea is also available, and Google has a satellite
view. The original light was taller, with a focal plane of 117
m (384 ft); we do not know when the light tower was rebuilt to its
present height. This lighthouse marks the northern entrance to the
eastern passage between the Hanish Islands and the Yemeni coast.
Its history parallels that of the Jabal al-Tayr lighthouse: built
by a private French company, seized by the British in 1915, operated
under contract by the French company and then by two British companies
until, in 1990, the British ceded control of the lighthouses to Yemen.
Located on a steep island at the southern end of the Hanish Islands.
Accessible only by boat. Site and tower closed. ARLHS YEM-001; Admiralty
E6142; NGA 30892.
- Zubair Islands (Centre Peak) (2)
- 1987 (station established 1903). Station reactivated (inactive 1939-1987);
focal plane 154 m (505 ft); white flash every 10 s. 14 m (46 ft) round
cylindrical concrete tower, rising from a 1-story concrete keeper's
house. Lighthouse painted with black and white horizontal bands. Klinksiek's photo
appears below right, a distant view
is available (lighthouse at the right end of the island), and Bing
has a satellite
view. The original light, a 20 m (66 ft) cylindrical tower, was
built by a private French company like the Jabal al-Tayr and Abu Ail
Lights. The British deactivated it in 1932, but the Italians (then in
control of Eritrea) sent a crew and put it back in service the following
year. The British did not reactivate it after World War II. Yemen built
a new light here in 1987 as the start of its project to occupy and light
the Red Sea islands. Zubair is the southernmost peak of a string of volcanic islands about 80 km (50 mi) off
the Yemeni coast and 100 km (62 mi) west northwest of Al Hudaydan (Hodeida). Located on the crater rim of the island.
Accessible only by boat. Site and tower closed. Admiralty E6141; NGA
30829.
- Jabal Yemen (Kamaran)
- Date unknown (around 1970?). Active; focal plane 40 m (131 ft); three white flashes
every 15 s. 18 m (59 ft) tripod tower with a small gallery. Alexey
Bobkov has a 2009 photo,
and Google has a satellite
view showing the
foundation pads of the three legs. A ruined fort is adjacent to the
lighthouse. Kamaran is
the largest island of Yemen's Red Sea coast. Occupied by British troops
in 1915, it was attached to Britain's Aden colony and was inherited
by South Yemen in 1967. North Yemen seized the island in 1972, but
the two countries merged in 1990. Located on Jabal (Mount) Yemen, a
hill near the south end of the island. Site status unknown. Admiralty
E6144; NGA 30800.
- Jabal
al-Tayr (Jabal at Tair) (2 ) (?)
- 1989 (station established 1903). Inactive since 2007. 20 m (66 ft) round cylindrical tower
with lantern and gallery, centered on a 1-story keeper's house. Lighthouse
painted white. Klinksiek's photo appears at the top of this page, and Google has a satellite
view. This lighthouse is located on a high island in the eastern
half of the Red Sea off Yemen's northwestern coast. The original lighthouse,
a black and white checkered tower on a square keeper's house, was built
by a private French company. After World War I, the British negotiated
an operating agreement with the French company, which remained in control
until World War II. After that war, Britain hired the Savon and Ries
Company to operate the Jabal at Tair and Abu Ail lighthouses. In 1980,
the contract was terminated and the Red Sea Lights Company was organized
to manage the lighthouses. In 1990, the British formally ceded control
of the lighthouses to Yemen. Yemen issued a notice to mariners in late
1989 concerning construction of a new lighthouse. In October 2007 the
island was rocked by a severe volcanic
eruption. It is not known to what extent the lighthouse was damaged, but
the station is believed to have been in an area affected by lava flows.
The light was deleted from the Admiralty list in early 2012. Located on the western flank of an island about 80 km (50 mi) west of
Al Luyhayyah. Accessible only by boat. Site and tower closed. ARLHS
YEM-003; ex-Admiralty E6140; ex-NGA 30792.
- Kutamah
- 2006. Active; focal plane 41 m (135 ft); three flashes every 12
s, white, red or green depending on direction. 12 m (39 ft) square
skeletal tower mounted on a concrete base. No photo available, and the tower is not seen in Google's satellite view. Located
on Kutamah, an island about 32 km (20 mi) west of Luyhayyah on the
north coast of Yemen. Site status unknown. Admiralty E6144.5.
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Balfe Point Light, February 2000
photo copyright Jürgen Klinksiek; used by permission
Perim High Light, December 1998
photo copyright Jürgen Klinksiek; used by permission
Abu Ail Light, September 1997
photo copyright Jürgen Klinksiek; used by permission
Zubair Islands (Centre Peak) Light, September 1997
photo copyright Jürgen Klinksiek; used by permission
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