Sultan Shoal Lighthouse


The Sultan Shoal Lighthouse was built in 1895 during the time when the late Commander Charles Quentin Gregan Craufurd was the Master Attendant of Singapore. It was built to replace the beacon previously established there.
Three single-wick lamps fitted with parabolic reflectors were used. Incandescent oil dioptric light with ‘Hood’ burner was used in 1931 with a 3rd Order 500 mm optic.. This optic revolved on mercury, producing an intensity of 670,000 candelas with a visibility range of 22 nautical miles. This kerosene burning lighting equipment was replaced in 1967 by an electrically operated 100-volt/1,000-watt light source. A generator room was built on the east side of the lighthouse to house three generators. With the generators, the seven-men lighthouse crew was reduced to four.
The 3rd Order optic was replaced by a rotating beacon, which possessed a revolving array of 24 lamps-cum-reflectors. An ‘S’ and ‘X’ band radar beacon was also installed in 1984 which provides additional navigational information to ships by emitting a morse code on the ship's radar screen.
Operated by the Maritime and Port Authority of Singapore, the present lighthouse equipment consists of a main and standby rotating beacon, each producing 110,000 candelas with a range of 20 nautical miles