Goleulong 2000 Lightship - News Article - Cardiff Bay, Wales.
N 51° 27.747 W 003° 09.657
30U E 488818 N 5701265
The 'Goleulong 2000 Lightship' - Light ships have protected shipping from the rocks, around our coast. Wales Online has reported the lightship in financial jeopardy, & may be on the rocks itself. Located at Cardiff Bay South Wales.
Waymark Code: WMPBFD
Location: South Wales, United Kingdom
Date Posted: 08/03/2015
Views: 4
For years the lives of seamen were protected by lightships around the Welsh Coast. Now redundant as the ships have Satellite Navigation.
"A lightship which has been a floating Christian centre and Cardiff Bay landmark for 20 years is to close during the winter as a result of financial difficulties.
The 50-year-old Goleulong 2000 lightship has been berthed in Cardiff Bay since 1993, welcoming up to 70,000 visitors and worshippers a year.
The ship, which has a cafe and chapel, will shut from October 31, with its skipper and galley manager, as well as a number of part-time staff, being made redundant.
The Cardiff Bay chaplains are also looking for a new base for the winter and have yet to be told the ship will definitely reopen next year.
A campaign has been launched to save the lightship from closure, with more than 500 people signing an online petition.
The decision to close was taken by its board of trustees, who are due to meet on Wednesday to discuss the vessel’s future. John Winton, chair of trustees, said the plan was to reopen in April.
He said the vessel had been running at a loss for some time and its reserves were running low, but selling it was “the last resort”.
“The simple matter is that the model we have at the moment, we don’t believe, is sustainable and if we had not taken action right now there was concern that we would probably be liquidated before Christmas,” he said.
He said raising the gangplanks had been a difficult decision and encouraged campaigners to get involved in securing its future, with more donations, volunteers and trustees needed.
“The idea is to spend three to four months talking to all our stakeholders and all the people that want to get involved in its future,” he said.
The Reverend Peter Noble, lead chaplain of the Cardiff Bay Ecumenical Partnership, said the ship was often a place of worship for people who are not regular churchgoers." Text Source: (
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