Lighthouses of the British Virgin Islands

The Territory of the Virgin Islands, better known as the British Virgin Islands, is a self-governing British overseas territory located just to the east of the U.S. Virgin Islands at the northeastern corner of the Caribbean Sea. Tortola, Virgin Gorda, Jost Van Dyke, and Anegada are the principal islands of the territory, but there are many smaller islands. The population is about 35,000. Tortola was first colonized by the Dutch in 1648, but the British captured the islands in 1672 and have held them ever since.

The territory has never had a traditional lighthouse and the status of its smaller lights is somewhat uncertain. Navigational aids in the territory are presumably maintained by the British Virgin Islands Ports Authority (BVIPA).

Needless to say, we need better information on these lights!

Admiralty numbers are from volume J of the Admiralty List of Lights & Fog Signals. U.S. NGA List numbers are from Publication 110.

General Sources
Online list of Lights - Virgin Islands East
Photos by various photographers posted by Alexander Trabas. Photos for this territory are by Rainer Arndt.
NOAA Chart 25641 - Virgin Islands
The U.S. navigation chart for the U.S. Virgin Islands also covers most of the British islands.
GPSNauticalCharts
Online navigation chart for the islands.
Navionics Charts
Navingation chart information for the islands.


Anegada West End Light
photo copyright Walker Mangum; used by permission

Lightbeacons
* Roadtown Range Front
Date unknown (station established early 1900s). Active; focal plane 11 m (36 ft); continuous red light. The NGA List describes these range lights as being on an "administration building." It turns out to be a post office. Trabas has Arndt's photo and Google has a satellite view. Located across the street from the BVIPA ferry terminal, south of the cruise ship terminal at Roadtown. Site open, tower closed. Admiralty J5635; NGA 14696.
* Roadtown Range Rear
Date unknown (station established early 1900s). Active; focal plane 16 m (52 ft); continuous red light. Light on a short mast mounted atop a building. Trabas has Arndt's photo and Google has a satellite view. Located 40 m (131 ft) west southwest of the front light. Site open, tower closed. Admiralty J5635.1; NGA 14696.1.
* [Bellamy Cay (?)]
Date unknown. Active; focal plane not listed; continuous white light. Described by NGA as a "white mast." Google has a sea view probably showing the mast and a satellite view of the cay. Located on a tiny cay just off the Tortola airport. Accessible only by boat. Site open, tower closed. Admiralty J5636.5; NGA 14699.
Salt Island
Date unknown. Active; focal plane 53 m (174 ft); white flash every 10 s. Approx. 5 m (17 ft) post mounted on a small equipment shelter. Lighthouse painted white. No photo available Google has an indistinct satellite view. This light guides vessels approaching Roadtown from the south. Located at the highest point of Salt Island, about 8 km (5 mi) southeast of Tortola. Site status unknown. Admiralty J5636; NGA 14708.
[Ginger Island]
Date unknown. Active; focal plane 152 m (499 ft); white flash every 5 s. 4 m (13 ft) yellow tower. No photo available but Google has an indistinct satellite view. Located at the northeastern tip of Ginger Island, a high and uninhabited island about 8 km (5 mi) southwest of Virgin Gorda. Accessible only by boat. Site and tower closed (the island is privately owned). Admiralty J5637; NGA 14704.
[Pajaros Point (Virgin Gorda)]
Date unknown. Inactive as of early 2014 but still listed with focal plane 61 m (200 ft); three white flashes every 15 s. Ruined post. Alisha Raish's photo is at right; the post rusted and collapsed, perhaps during a hurricane. It has been out of service at least since 2011. The small light is not seen in Google's satellite view. This light marks the extreme eastern end of the Virgin Islands. Located on heights near the eastern end of Virgin Gorda. Site open, tower closed. Admiralty J5633; NGA 14700.
* [Anegada (West End)]
Date unknown. Active(?); focal plane 19 m (62 ft); white flash every 10 s. Approx. 18 m (59 ft) black mast. Walker Mangum's aerial photo is at the top of this page but the mast is not shown in Google's satellite view. This light is listed by NGA but has been dropped by the Admiralty. Located at the west end of Anegada. Site open, tower closed. ex-Admiralty J5632.5; NGA 14702.
Pajaros Point Light
Ruins of Pajaros Point Light, Virgin Gorda, 2014
photo copyright Alisha Raish; permission requested

Information available on lost lighthouses:

Notable faux lighthouses:

Adjoining pages: East: Anguilla | West: U.S. Virgin Islands

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Posted November 11, 2014. Checked and revised January 10, 2024. Lighthouses: 3. Site copyright 2024 Russ Rowlett and the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill.