Lighthouses of Indonesia: Western North Maluku

The Republic of Indonesia has been independent since 1945 after having been the Dutch East Indies for more than 350 years. It is a huge country, stretching along both sides of the Equator for more than 46 degrees of longitude (roughly 5100 km or 3200 miles). Comprised of some 17,000 islands (more than 6000 inhabited islands), it has hundreds of major aids to navigation.

Indonesia is divided into 38 provinces (provinsi) and the provinces are subdivided into county units called regencies (kabupaten). Maluku Province and North Maluku Province include the islands traditionally known in the West as the Moluccas or the "Spice Islands." The Moluccas lie east of Sulawesi (Celebes), south of the Philippines, and west of New Guinea. The Portuguese established a settlement in the islands at Ambon in 1526. They were replaced in 1609 by the Dutch, who established a second colonial settlement at Ternate. Today Ambon is the capital of Maluku province and Ternate was until recently the capital of North Maluku province.

This page includes lighthouses of islands on the northwest side of the Moluccas including Buru in Maluku Province and the Sula Islands in North Muluku Province. The Maluku Sea is on the north side of these islands and the Banda Sea is on the south.

More than 700 languages are spoken in Indonesia. The official national language, Indonesian (Bahasa Indonesia), was standardized from a form of Malay that served as a lingua franca across the archipelago. In Indonesian a lighthouse is a mercusuar or a menara suar. Tanjung is a cape, ujung is a headland or point of land, bukit is a hill, sungai is a river, kuala or muara is an estuary or river mouth, pulau is an island, karang is a reef, batu is a rock, laut is a sea, selat is a strait, teluk is a bay, pelabuhan is a harbor, and labuhan is a port. It's also worth knowing that the word for an island is nusa in Balinese and gili in the Sasak language spoken on Lombok and in western Sumbawa.

Aids to navigation in Indonesia are operated and maintained by the Directorate of Marine Navigation within the Directorate General of Sea Transportation

ARLHS numbers are from the ARLHS World List of Lights. Admiralty numbers are from volumes F and Q of the Admiralty List of Lights & Fog Signals. U.S. NGA List numbers are from Publication 112.

General Sources
Online List of Lights - Indonesia - Maluku
Photos by various photographers posted by Alexander Trabas.
World of Lighthouses - Indonesia
Photos by various photographers available from Lightphotos.net.

Tanjung Waka Light, Sanana, Sula Islands, October 2020
Google Maps photo by Andreas Muljadi

South Halmahera Regency Lighthouses

South Ha;mahera Regency also has several lighthouses on the mainland of Halmahera. These lighthouses are described on the Halmahera page.

Bacan Islands Lighthouses
The Bacan Islands lie off the west coast of Halmahera's southern peninsula. Pulau Bacan itself is the largest of the islands.

Tanjung Gegoru
Date unknown. Active; focal plane 15 m (49 ft); white flash every 5 s. 15 m (49 ft) round barbell-shaped tower. No photo available but Google has a satellite view. Located at the western tip of Pulau Mandioli, marking the southwestern point of the Bacan Islands. Probably accessible only by boat. Site status unknown. Admiralty Q1585.5.
* Pelabuhan Indari
2022. Active; focal plane about 22 m (72 ft); white light, pattern unknown. Approx. 20 m (66 ft) white skeletal tower. A 2022 photo is available but another photo (posted in the same month )does not show it. Google has a satellite view. Located on the pier at Indari, a port on the northwest side of Pulau Bacan. Site open, tower closed. Not listed by the Admiralty.
Pulau Pokal
Date unknown. Active; focal plane 110 m (361 ft); two white flashes every 15 s. Approx. 40 m (131 ft) square skeletal tower, painted white. No photo available but Google has a satellite view. Located on a small island in the center of the narrow Patientie Strait separating southwestern Halmahera from the neighboring Pulau Bacan. Accessible only by boat. Site status unknown. Admiralty Q1588; NGA 25770.
* Babang (?)
Date unknown. Apparently removed in 2018 but still listed with focal plane 14 m (46 ft); white flash every 6 s. This was a 12 m (39 ft) round concrete tower, flared at the top and buttressed at the base. Google has a 2017 street view but there has been extensive construction on the docks and no light has been found in Google's satellite view. Located on the waterfront of Babang, a town on the east coast of Pulau Bacan, the largest of the Bacan Islands. Site open, tower closed. Admiralty Q1587.5; NGA 25769.
Pertamina Labuha
Date unknown. Active; focal plane 11 m (36 ft); four white flashes every 8 s. Approx. 8 m (26 ft) white concrete tower. Harrys Pratama has a 2021 photo, Pranata Yudhi has a 2019 photo, Google has a satellite view. Located at the Pertamina oil terminal southest of the main harbor area in Babang. Site and tower closed. Admiralty Q1587.
* Pelabuhan Wayaua
Around 2020. Active; focal plane about 22 m (72 ft); white light, pattern unknown. Approx. 20 m (66 ft) white skeletal tower. A 2022 photo and a 2024 photo are available and Google has a satellite view. Located on the pier at Wayaua, a port on the south side of Pulau Bacan. Site open, tower closed. Not listed by the Admiralty.
* Pelabuhan Kupal
Date unknown. Active; focal plane about 22 m (72 ft); white light, pattern unknown. Approx. 20 m (66 ft) white skeletal tower. A 2023 photo is at right but the tower may be too new to appear in Google's satellite view of the port. Located at Kupal, a port on the southwestern coast of Pulau Bacan. Site open, tower closed. Not listed by the Admiralty.

Kupal Light, Bacan Islands, June 2023
Google Maps photo by inDONYsea

Kayoa Islands Lighthouses
The Kayoa Islands are a group of smaller islands off the west coast of Halmahera's southern peninsula north of Pulau Bacan and south of Pulau Makian.

Pulau Sarangburung (Lata Lata) (2)
Date unknown. Active; focal plane about 40 m (131 ft); white flash every 2 s. Approx. 30 m (98 ft) square skeletal tower painted white. No photo available but Bing has a distant satellite view. NGA lists a 10 m (33 ft) tower but the satellite view shows a much taller structure. Located on a small island at the west end of Pulau Sarangburung, the southwestern point of the Kayoa Islands. Accessible only by boat. Site status unknown. Admiralty Q1582; NGA 25771.
* Pelabuhan Busua (Pulau Muari)
2017. Active; focal plane 23 m (75 ft); white flash every 3 s. 20 m (66 ft) square skeletal tower. A 2022 photo is at right, Sultan Bosthon has a 2018 photo, and Salus Yustian has a 2021 photo, but the tower imay be too new to be seen in Bing's satellite view. Located at the foot of the ferry pier in Busua, a small port at the northeastern end of Pulau Muari. Site open, tower closed. Admiralty Q1583.
* Pelabuhan Laromabati (Pulau Kayoa)
Date unknown. Active; focal plane about 23 m (75 ft); white light, pattern unknown. Approx. 20 m (66 ft) square skeletal tower. No photo available but Google has a satellite view. Located at the ferry terminal near the northern end of Pulau Kayoa. Site open, tower closed. Not listed by the Admiralty.

Busua Light, Kayoa Islands, August 2022
Google Maps photo by upp babang

Makian Lighthouses
Pulau Makian
2003. Active; focal plane 25 m (82 ft); white flash every 5 s. 20 m (66 ft) tapered square skeletal tower, painted white. No photo available but Google has a satellite view. Pulau Makian is a volcanic island off the west coast of Halmahera about 60 km (38 mi) south of Ternate. Located on the western tip of the island. Site status unknown. Admiralty F2107.3; NGA 25210.
* Pelabuhan Makian
Date unknown. Active; focal plane about 15 m (49 ft); white light, pattern unknown. Approx. 12 m (39 ft) square white skeletal tower. Ridwan Muhamad Fajar has a 2020 photo, the tower is behind the left posts of the harbor gate in Rinaldi Ad's 2023 photo, Marwan Mohamad has a very distant view from the sea, and Google has an indistinct satellite view. Located at the ferry terminal on the east coast of the island. Site open, tower closed. Not listed by the Admiralty.

Obi Islands Lighthouses
The Obi Islands lie to the south of Halmahera and north of Seram. Obira (also called Obi and Obi Mayor) is by far the largest of the islands.

Pulau Laiola (Pulau Lawin)
Date unknown. Active; focal plane 34 m (112 ft); two white flashes every 6 s. 30 m (98 ft) square skeletal tower, painted white. Several 1-story station buildings. No photo available but Google has a satellite view of the light station. Located on Pulau Laiola, easternmost of the Tema Islands, in the Halmahera Sea about 55 km (35 mi) east of the island of Obira. Accessible only by boat. Site status unknown. Admiralty Q1603; NGA 25764.
* Jikotamo Bandar (Pelabuhan Jikotamo, Pelabuhan Laiwui)
Date unknown. Active; focal plane 23 m (75 ft); white flash every 3 s. 20 m (60 ft) skeletal tower, painted white. A 2024 photo is at right, Viktor Rendra has a 2018 photo, Ahmad Siroji has a 2019 photo, Januar Retristian has a 2017 photo, Pardi Laapo has a photo, and Google has a satellite view. Located at the Jikotamo ferry port on the north coast of Pulau Obira. Site open, tower closed. Admiralty Q1589.

Pelabuhan Laiwui Light, Pulau Obira, February 2024
Google Maps photo by S Wira K
Tanjung Wok (Woka)
Date unknown. Active; focal plane 17 m (56 ft); white light, 5 s on, 7 s off. 17 m (56 ft) "white beacon." No photo available. The Admiralty's position data for this light appears to be incorrect. The tower is not seen in Bing's satellite view of the area. Located (apparently) at the tip of a promontory on the north coast of Pulau Obira. Site status unknown. Admiralty Q1591; NGA 25766.
Pelabuhan Wayaloar ("Wai Lower")
Date unknown. Active; focal plane 23 m (75 ft); white flash every 3 s. 20 m (66 ft) square white skeletal tower. No photo available but Bing has a satellite view. The Admiralty interpreted the name of this village as "Wai Lower." Located at the ferry terminal at Wayaloar, a small port on the south coast of Pulau Obira. Site open, tower closed. Admiralty Q1590.8.
Tanjung Akelamo
Date unknown. Active; focal plane 46 m (151 ft); white flash every 10 s. 40 m (131 ft) octagonal white concrete tower with gallery. Several 1-story station buildings. Kevin Mnur has the 2025 photo, at right, a closeup photo and an aerial view are available, and Bing has a good satellite view of the station. Located on the southwestern tip of Pulau Obira, marking the east side of the southern entrance to the Maluku Sea. Site status unknown. Admiralty Q1590.5.

Tanjung Akelamo Light, Pulau Obira, AJanuary 2025
Google Maps photo by Kevin Mnur

Sula Islands Lighthouses

The Sula Islands are north of Buru and to the west of the Obi islands. Of the three largest islands, Taliabu and Mangole are in a west-east line, while Sulabesi (Sanana) is at right angles south of Mangole. The islands separate the Maluku (Molucca) Sea to the north from the Banda Sea to the south. Taliabu became a separate regency in 2013.

Sula Islands Regency: Pulau Mangole (Mangoli) Lighthouses
Long and narrow, Pulau Mangole (often spelled Mangoli) is lightly populated with about 40,000 residents. Most live near the western tip of the island, which is separated from Pulau Taliabu by the narrow Capalulu Strait.

* Pelabuhan Laut Dofa
Date unknown. Active; focal plane about 23 m (75 ft); flashing white light. Approx. 20 m (66 ft) square skeletal tower painted white. Rengga Purnomo has a 2020 photo and a closeup, a 2022 photo is available, and Google has a satellite view. Located at a new port at Dofa on the west coast of Pulau Mangole. Site open, tower closed. Not listed by the Admiralty.
Tanjung Falabisahaya
Date unknown. Active; focal plane about 16 m (52 ft); green light, pattern unknown. Approx. 16 m (52 ft) square green skeletal tower on a square platform supported by piles. No photo available and the light is only a smudge in Bing's satellite view. Located at the edge of a reef on the west side of the entrance to the bay leading to Falabisahaya. Accessible only by boat. Site open, tower closed. Admiralty Q1601.168.
* Falabisahaya (Pulau Mangole)
Date unknown. Active; focal plane about 23 m (75 ft); flashing white light. Approx. 20 m (66 ft) square skeletal tower painted white. is Gerard Moloney's 2024 photo at right, Ahmad Safar has a 2022 photo, Hidayat Syamsi has a 2018 photo, and Google has a satellite view and a closeup street view. Located at the foot of the pier in Falabisahaya harbor on the central north coast of Pulau Mangole. Site open, tower closed. Admiralty Q1601.165.
Pulau Pastabulu
Date unknown. Active; focal plane about 16 m (52 ft); red light, pattern unknown. Approx. 16 m (52 ft) square red skeletal tower on a square platform supported by piles. No photo available but Bing has a fuzzy satellite view. Pulau Pastabulu is a butterfly-shaped island off the north coast of Pulau Mangole, sheltering the bay leading to Falabisahaya. Located just off the western tip of the island. Accessible only by boat. Site open, tower closed. Admiralty Q1601.169.
Tanjung Dehekalano (Pulau Lifumatola)
Date unknown. Active; focal plane 65 m (213 ft); three white flashes every 20 s. 40 m (131 ft) tapered square skeletal tower, painted white. Several 1-story station buildings. A photo of the lower portion of the tower is available and Google has a satellite view of the station. Located at the eastern tip of Pulau Lifumatola, at the extreme eastern end of the Sula Islands, marking the west side of the southern entrance to the Maluku Sea. Site status unknown. Admiralty Q1592; NGA 25742.

Pelabuhan Falabisahaya Light, Pulau Mangole, July 2024
Google Maps photo by Gerard Moloney

Sula Islands Regency: Pulau Sanana Lighthouses
Another long and narrow island, Pulau Sanana is oriented north-south, at right angles to Pulau Mangole. It has a population of about 65,000.

Tanjung Sakita
Date unknown. Active; focal plane about 15 m (49 ft); white light, pattern unknown. Approx. 12 m (39 ft) square white skeletal tower. Akhim Palulungan has a distant drone view, Dahce Sapasuru has a closeup, and Google has a satellite view. The light was relocated 30 m (100 ft) west in 2022 or 2023. Located at an oil terminal in a sheltered harbor at the northern end of Pulau Sanana. Site status unknown. Admiralty Q1601.5; NGA 25760.
Sanana Entrance North
Date unknown. Active; focal plane 18 m (59 ft); green flash every 5 s. 15 m (49 ft) square skeletal tower painted green and mounted on a square platform supported by piles. The two entrance lights are near the right edge in NurLia Umter's photo, a distant street view from shore is available, and Google has a satellite view. Located on the north side of the entrance to Sanana harbor. Accessible only by boat. Site open, tower closed. Admiralty Q1601.3; NGA 25756.5.
Sanana Entrance South
Date unknown. Active; focal plane 14 m (46 ft); red flash every 3 s. 14 m (46 ft) round red barbell-shaped fiberglass tower mounted on a square platform supported by piles. The two entrance lights are near the right edge in NurLia Umter's photo, a distant street view from shore is available, and Google has a satellite view. Located on the south side of the entrance to Sanana harbor. Accessible only by boat. Site open, tower closed. Admiralty Q1601; NGA 25756.
* Pelabuhan Sanana (1)
Date unknown. Inactive. Approx. 12 m (39 ft) round white barbell-shaped tower. Sambas Junaidi's 2019 photo showing both lighthouses is at right, a 2015 view from the sea is available, and this tower is at the right in another 2019 photo, and Google has a satellite view. Located near the newer and taller tower (next entry). Site open, tower closed.
* Pelabuhan Sanana (2)
Date unknown. Active; focal plane about 23 m (75 ft); white flash every 5 s. Approx. 20 m (66 ft) square skeletal tower painted white. Sambas Junaidi's 2019 photo showing both lighthouses is at right, Giga Nusantara has an October 2016 photo, a 2019 photo is available, and Google has a satellite view. Located at the foot of the pier in Sanana harbor, near the northeastern corner of the island. Site open, tower closed. Admiralty Q1601.2.

New (left) and old Lights, Pelabuhan Sanana, November 2019
Google Maps photo by Sambas Junaidi
Tanjung Fatkayuan
Date unknown. Active; focal plane 22 m (72 ft); three white flashes every 10 s. Described as a "white beacon," most likely a skeletal tower. No photo available but Google has a fuzzy satellite view. NGA lists this light as Tanjung Fatmok. Located in Fatkayuan, a village in southeastern Sanana, about 6 km (4 mi) northeast of Tanjung Waka. Site status unknown. Admiralty Q1601.1; NGA 25755.
Tanjung Waka
Date unknown. Active; focal plane 50 m (164 ft); three white flashes every 15 s. Approx. 45 m (148 ft) square tapered skeletal tower, painted white. Four 1-story station buildings. Andreas Muljadi's 2020 photo is at the top of this page, a drone view is available, and Google has a satellite view of the station. Located on the southern tip of the narrow island of Sanana, marking the passage between that island and Buru. Site status unknown. Admiralty Q1601.15; NGA 25754.5.
* Pelabuhan Malbufa
2021. Active; focal plane about 23 m (75 ft); flashing white light. Approx. 20 m (66 ft) square skeletal tower painted white. A 2021 photo is available and Google has a 2022 street view (a portion is seen at right), but the tower is apparently too new to appear in Google's satellite view. Located at the base of the pier at Malbufa on the west coast of Pulau Sanana. Site open, tower closed. Admiralty Q1601.19.
* Malbufa Inner
Date unknown. Active; focal plane 18 m (56 ft); red flash every 5 s. 15 m (49 ft) square skeletal tower painted green and mounted on a square platform supported by piles. This light is on the right in a very distant view and Google has a satellite view. Located on a shoal about 800 m (1/2 mi) off Malbufa, a village on the northwest coast of Pulau Sanana. Accessible only by boat. Site open, tower closed. Admiralty Q1601.16.

Pelabuhan Malbufa Light, Pulau Sanana, April 2022
Google Maps street view by Feihu
* Malbufa Outer
Date unknown. Active; focal plane 18 m (56 ft); green flash every 5 s. 15 m (49 ft) square skeletal tower painted green and mounted on a square platform supported by piles. This light is on the left in a very distant view and Google has a satellite view. Located on a shoal about 1.6 km (1 mi) off Malbufa. Accessible only by boat. Site open, tower closed. Admiralty Q1601.17.

Taliabu Regency Lighthouses
Pulau Sehu (Seku)
Date unknown. Active; focal plane 60 m (197 ft); two white flashes every 15 s. 60 m (197 ft) skeletal tower on a concrete pier. No photo available but Google has an indistinct satellite view. This light and the Pulau Buangbuang Light (see the Eastern Sulawesi page) frame the entrance to the Maluku Sea from the Banda Sea. Located on a promontory on the west side of Pulau Sehu, an island off the southwestern tip of Pulau Taliabu. Accessible only by boat. Site status unknown. Admiralty Q1569.5; NGA 25384.
* Bobong
Active; focal plane about 23 m (75 ft); flashing white light. Approx. 20 m (66 ft) square skeletal tower painted white. A 2024 photo is at right, Rengga Purnomo has a 2020 photo, Eriko Utama has a 2016 beach view, Usman Ramli has a distant street view, and Google has a satellite view. Bobong, at the western end of Pulau Taliabu, is the capital of the Taliabu Regency. Located on the waterfront harbor of Taliabu. Site open, tower closed. Admiralty Q1569.8.
* Tikong (Pelabuhan Bakiki Sahu)
Date unknown. Active; focal plane about 23 m (75 ft); flashing white light. Approx. 20 m (66 ft) square white skeletal tower. A 2020 photo and a more distant view are available and Bing has a satellite view. Located a Tikong, a port on the northwest coast of Pulau Taliabu. Site open, tower closed. Admiralty Q1570.7.

Bobong Light, Pulau Taliabu, December 2024
Google Maps photo by Kamarudin

Information available on lost lighthouses:

Notable faux lighthouses:

Adjoining pages: Northeast: Halmahera | Southeast: Seram and Ambon | South: Buru

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Posted December 31, 2008. Checked and revised January 12, 2025. Lighthouses: 18. Site copyright 2025 Russ Rowlett and the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill.