Lighthouses in Vizag: Remnants of the city’s maritime history

Vizag has a rich legacy of maritime commerce and has had trade relations with the Middle East and Rome, back in the day. The monumental lighthouses in the city, which played a significant role in the maritime trade, are the standing testimonies to the bygone era. To shed light on these age-old structures, we got in touch with Vijjeswarapu Edward Paul, a city-based History Researcher, to trace back the glorious past of the lighthouses in Vizag.

Speaking to Yo! about the lighthouses in Vizag, Mr Paul said that the first lighthouse in the city was erected on the Dolphin Nose Hill, over an old Dutch tower, in 1873. Sharing further details, he said, “The work was commissioned in 1874. The structure, which had a fixed red light, was installed 640 feet from sea level. But just two years later, it was ravaged by a severe cyclonic storm in 1876.”

Noting that Vizag did not house another lighthouse until 1903, the city-based History Researcher mentioned that the Flagstaff Lighthouse was erected on a 52-feet long masonry tower a 52-feet structure was commissioned at Flagstaff, in front of St. Aloysius School. “Constructed to help guide the ships into the Visakhapatnam Harbour, the lighthouse tower was a transit line lighthouse. The lighthouse flashed white fixed light of second-order, every 20 seconds with brightness levels equivalent to 4,250 candlelight power and was visible from 12 miles in clear weather. The light was replaced in 1934 with an occulting light,” he added.

Giving details about the existing lighthouse on the Dolphin Nose Hill, he said that it came about only in 1957, just a little south of the old lighthouse, which had bitten the dust due to a storm. Inaugurated by Lal Bahadur Shastri, the former Prime Minister of India, this lighthouse has optical equipment of 700 mm revolving inside which flashes light every 10 seconds. He mentioned that the lighthouse near the Park Hotel, had a red fixed light, until the 1980s.