THE EFFICIENCY OF THE GREEK LIGHTHOUSE NETWORK

Among the many primary causes which lead to a shipping casualty, those of wrecking, stranding or coming into contact with fixed coastal stru ctures depend (although not exclusively and only under specific condit ions of visibility) upon the efficiency of the lighthouse and navigati ng lights network of a national coastline. The analysis of the shippin g casualties involving creek ships in the creek seas revealed that, de spite the recent introduction of sophisticated navigating aids for the prevention of stranding and contact, the share of the corresponding c asualties remains unchanged. It appears that for coastal shipping oper ations, and in particular for port approaches, the traditional light n avigating aids are and will always provide an irreplaceable safety ser vice for navigators. This is mainly attributed to their technological simplicity which offers a high level of signal reliability and friendl iness for the navigator.