Work starts to create new permanent berth for historic lightship

Spurn Lightship wet birth works

SPENCER Group is building a wet berth for the Spurn Lightship on Hull Marina, as part of a £30m cultural regeneration project.

The Hull City Council-led Hull Maritime project has been launched to celebrate and preserve Hull’s rich maritime heritage.

The lightship was built in 1927 and served for 48 years as a navigation aid in the approaches of the Humber Estuary. It was decommissioned in 1975 before being bought by Hull City Council and moved to Hull Marina as a museum.

It has been closed since 2018 but is now set to reopen in its new home in the north-west corner of the marina, close to the Murdoch’s Connection footbridge, later in the summer.

The works by Spencer Group will include dredging of the berthing area and the installation of five mooring piles and a steel walkway to allow access onto the lightship once it has been moved into place at its new home, close to the Holiday Inn.

The majority of the works will be carried out from floating pontoons.

Richard Green-Morgan, Off-Site Construction Director for Spencer Group, said: “We’re really excited to have started work on this important project in our home city, which will help raise awareness of Hull’s fantastic history.

“The Spurn Lightship is a truly iconic vessel and an important part of the city’s maritime heritage, so we’re incredibly proud to be playing our part in making it accessible to the public when it’s in its new permanent home.

“We’re on track to complete the project in time for the lightship to be moved from its current temporary location on the marina to the new berth later in the summer.”

Councillor Mike Ross, Leader of Hull City Council, said: “Starting work on the new permanent berth for the Spurn Lightship is the final chapter in the restoration programme for the vessel.

“This is an exciting time, as preparations are well underway to re-open the much-loved attraction to visitors later in the year for everyone to explore following its restoration.

“With increased access and more and more to see, visitors will learn more about the lightship and what it was like to work on the vessel, navigating ships safely from the Humber.”

National Highways, which is carrying out major improvements to the A63 Castle Street route in and out of Hull, has awarded Hull City Council over £1m through its Designated Funds programme for the delivery of the wet berth.

Rebecca Wathen, National Highways Assistant Project Manager, said: “It’s a very proud moment for us to see the works commence on the new home for this icon, which embraces the city’s maritime heritage, next to the landmark Murdoch’s Connection footbridge.

“It’s really important to us that we continue to support projects such as the Spurn Lightship through our Designated Funds programme, which we aim to bring lasting benefits to communities.”

For more information about Spencer Group’s marine expertise, visit https://thespencergroup.co.uk/?s=marine