The Ministry of Transport of the People’s Republic of China held a completion ceremony on April 5th, 2016 for construction of the lighthouse on Zhubi Reef, marking the start of the lighthouse’s operation.
Construction of the 55-meter-high lighthouse, which has a lantern of 4.5 meters in diameter on top and rotating lights inside, began in October, 2015. The lighthouse is monitored via a remote control terminal.
The lighthouse emits white light in the nighttime, with a range of 22 nautical miles and a glow cycle of five seconds.
Zheng Heping, deputy head of the Maritime Safety Administration, said the automatic identification system and other equipment inside the lighthouse can provide efficient navigation services to ships, such as positioning reference, route guidance and navigation safety information.
To improve maritime emergency responses in the area, the Ministry of Transport started construction of large, multifunctional lighthouses on Huayang Reef, Chigua Reef and Zhubi Reef last year. The two other lighthouses are already in use.
“The Zhubi lighthouse will further enhance the capability to ensure maritime security in the South China Sea,” Zheng said.
Lighthouses are part of China’s efforts to perform its responsibilities in maritime search and rescue, response to natural disasters and marine environmental protection, the Transport Ministry has said.