Lighthouses of Indonesia: Southwestern Papua

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). The lighthouses on this page are in Indonesian Papua (western New Guinea). In 1828 the Dutch extended their claim to the western half of New Guinea, the world's second-largest island, but they established no major settlements until nearly 1900. When Indonesia became independent in 1949 Papua was excluded and remained under Dutch control. Following strong Indonesian effrots to claim control an agreement in 1962 provided for a transitional period under United Nations administration. In 1969 an asembly of elder leaders decided to join Indonesia. However an independence movement called the Free Papua Movement (OPM) continues and a varying degree of unrest has persisted to the preent day.

This page describes lighthouses on the south coasts of Central Papua Province, West Papua Province, and the South Sorong Regency in Southwest Papua Province. These provinces are on the southern side of the narrow western neck of New Guinea, ending in the Bird's Head Peninsula at the northwestern corner of the island. Their coasts face south on the Arafura Sea and southwest on the Seram Sea. Lighthouses of the north coasts of Central Papua Province and West Papua Province are described on the Northwestern Papua page. The Sorong and Raja Ampat Islands pages have additional lighthouses of Southwest Papua Province.

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 volume Q of the Admiralty List of Lights & Fog Signals. U.S. NGA List numbers are from Publications 111 and 112.

General Sources
World of Lighthouses - Indonesia
Photos by various photographers available from Lightphotos.net.
Online List of Lights - Indonesia - Papua
Photos by various photographers posted by Alexander Trabas.
Google Maps
Satellite view of southwestern Papua.

Fakfak Light, Fakfak, March 2020
Google Maps photo by Guntur La Tasmin

Central Papua Province: Arafura Sea Lighthouses

Mimika Regency Lighthouses
Mimika Regency includes the entire south coast of Central Papua Province.

Sungai Aika (Amamapare) Range Rear
Date unknown. Active; focal plane 13 m (43 ft); white light, 2 s on, 2 s off. 13 m (43 ft) square white skeletal tower mounted on a platform supported by piles. No photo available but Google has an indistinct satellte view. The front light is on a 6 m (20 ft) post. The range guides ships approaching Amamapare, a port on the Aika River operated by PT Freeport Indonesia in support of a copper and gold mine in the interior as well as a coal-fired power plant that supplies the power for the mine. Located at a sharp bend of the river about 6 km (3.5 mi) west of the port. Accessible only by boat. Site status unknown. Admiralty Q3342.61; NGA 25864.
Sungai Keakwa (Nime)
Date unknown. Active; focal plane 16 m (52 ft); two white flashes every 12.5 s. 1This light is probably on a tall skeletal tower, likely a communications tower. No photo available,but Google has a satellite view of the tower. Located at Keakwa, near the western border of Central Papua Province. Site status unknown. Admiralty Q3343; NGA 25908.

West Papua Province : Seram Sea Lighthouses

Kaimana Regency (Kamrau Gulf Area) Lighthouses
Kaimana Regency surrounds the Kamrau Gulf (Teluk Kamrau), a wedge-shaped bay located under the "wattle" of the Doberai (Bird's Head) Peninsula. Kaimana, the regency capital, is a small port on the east side of the Kamrau Gulf.

Pulau Nusurumi
Date unknown. Active; focal plane 57 m (187 ft); white flash every 5 s. Approx. 15 m (49 ft) concrete post with gallery. Entire lighthouse is white. No photo available but Google has a satellite view. Located at the north end of Nusurumi, the largest of an archipelago of limestone islands in the center of the Triton Bay in southernmost West Papua. Accessible only by boat. Site status unknown. Admiralty Q3345.4; NGA 25910.
Bitsyaru
Date unknown. Active; focal plane 75 m (246 ft); three white flashes every 15 s. 15 m (49 ft) iron skeletal tower, painted white. No photo available but Google has a distant satellite view. Located on a promontory at Bitsyaru on the Kamrau Gulf. Site status unknown. ARLHS IDO-113; Admiralty Q3345.3; NGA 25916.
* Kaimana (Teluk Kaimana) (2)
Date unknown. Active; focal plane about 25 m (82 ft); white flash every 10 s. Approx. 23 m (75 ft) square skeletal tower painted white. Part of Ismu Hidayat's 2020 street view is at right, the light is at the right side of Debora Fugida's panoramic view, La Madi has a distant view, and Google has a satellite view. NGA lists a much smaller tower for this location. Located on the waterfront in Kaimana. Site open, tower closed. Admiralty Q3345; NGA 25917.
Tanjung Simora
Date unknown. Active; focal plane 27 m (89 ft); white flash every 3 s. Approx. 20 m (66 ft) square white skeletal tower. No photo available but Google has a satellite view. Located on the promontory on the west side of the entrance to Kaimana Bay. Site status unknown; since this lighthouse is close to a road it may be accessible. Admiralty Q3344.7; NGA 25917.5.
 

Teluk Kaimana Light, Kaimana, February 2020
Google Maps photo by Ismu Hidayat
Pulau Sarlota (Serotte Island)
Date unknown. Active; focal plane 50 m (164 ft); two red flashes every 10 s. Approx. 30 m (98 ft) square skeletal tower, painted white. Untung Pamuji posted a distant 2012 view from the sea (seen at right) and Google has an indistinct satellite view. Located on an island in the upper Kamrau Gulf. Accessible only by boat. Site status unknown. Admiralty Q3344.5; NGA 25918.
Pulau Keliwala (Kiliwala)
Date unknown. Active; focal plane 13 m (43 ft); white flash every 3 s. Approx. 13 m (43 ft) "white beacon," presumably a skeletal tower. No photo available but Google has a satellite view. Located on a small island about 25 km (15 mi) north of Pulau Adi. Accessible only by boat. Site status unknown. Admiralty Q3343.5; NGA 25914.
Pulau Adi
Date unknown. Active; focal plane 30 m (98 ft); three white flashes every 15 s. Approx. 20 m (66 ft) square white skeletal tower. Several 1-story coast guard station buildings. No photo available but Google has a satellite view. This light marks the west side of the entrance to the large Kamrau Gulf on the southwest coast of Papua. Accessible only by boat. Site status unknown. Admiralty Q3345.5; NGA 25912.
Tanjung Nasaulang
Date unknown. Active; focal plane 15 m (49 ft); white flash every 3 s. 15 m (49 ft) post with gallery on a triangular platform supported by piles. No photo available but Google has a satellite view. This is an important light marking a major cape at the southern extremity of West Papua. Accessible only by boat. The listed location is about 2 km (1.25 mi) off Cape Nasaulang. Site open, tower closed Admiralty Q3344.

Fakfak Regency Lighthouses
Fakfak is one of the oldest towns in Papua, established in the late 16th century as a trading outpost of the Sultanate of Ternate. The Dutch placed one of their first garrisons in Papua here in 1898. The Fakfak Regency includes the Bomberai Peninsula, separating the Seram Sea and the Berau Gulf,

Pulau Panjang (Tanjung Warmarusa) (2)
Date unknown (station established 1904). Active; focal plane 34 m (112 ft); three white flashes every 15 s. 13 m (43 ft) (?) square skeletal tower with gallery, painted white. No photo available but Aldy Woretma has the view from atop the tower and Google has a satellite view. This light marks the entrance to a sheltered bay and the small port of Fakfak, on the south side of the Bomberai Peninsula. The lighthouse appears to be taller than the listed height. Located on Tanjung Wamarusa at the eastern end of Pulau Panjang. Accessible only by boat. Site status unknown. ARLHS IDO-232; Admiralty Q3346; NGA 25920.

Pulau Sarlota Light, Kaimana Regency, July 2012
ex-Panoramio photo copyright Untung Pamuji; permission requested
* Fakfak (2?)
Date unknown. Active; focal plane about 22 m (72 ft); white flash every 3 s. Approx. 20 m (66 ft) square white skeletal tower. Guntur La Tasmin has a 2020 drone view (seen at the top of this page), Fony Fitriana has a distant view from the sea, and Google has a 2020 street view and a satellite view. NGA describes a beacon with a focal plane of only 12 m (39 ft). Located on the main quay at Fakfak. Site status unknown but the light is easy to see from nearby. Admiralty Q3347; NGA 25924.
* Pelabuhan Fakfak
Date unknown. Active; focal plane about 20 m (66 ft); white light, pattern unknown. Approx. 16 m (52 ft) white steel post. Google has a distant street view but the post is not seen in Google's satellite view. Located in the harbor terminals st Fakfak. Site open, tower closed. Admiralty Q3347.2.
Karang Metimeti (Meti Meti)
Date unknown. Active; focal plane 13 m (43 ft); red flash every 4 s. 13 m (43 ft) tower mounted on a platform supported by piles. No photo available but Google has a satellite view. Located at the south end of a reef off the harbor of Fakfak. Accessible only by boat. Site open, tower closed. Admiralty Q3347.5; NGA 25923.
Tanjung Udang (Fakfak ASDP Port)
Date unknown. Active; focal plane 34 m (112 ft); white flash every 10 s. 30 m (98 ft) square pyramidal white skeletal tower. No photo available but Google has a satellite view. Located on the quay of a new ferry terminal about 12 km (7.5 mi) west of Fakfak. Accessible by road from Fakfak. Site open, tower closed. Admiralty Q3347.55.
Pulau Ega (Ekka)
Date unknown. Active; focal plane 50 m (164 ft); two white flashes every 10 s. Approx. 40 m (131 ft) square white skeletal tower. No photo available but Google has a satellite view. This is the landfall light for Fakfak. Located at the west end of Pulau Ega, about 40 km (25 mi) west of Fakfak. Accessible only by boat. Site status unknown. Admiralty Q3347.6; NGA 25922.
Pulau Batuputih (Batu Putih)
Date unknown. Active; focal plane 55 m (164 ft); white flashes every 5 s. Listed only as a "white beacon"; Google has a satellite view that appears to show a barbell-shaped fiberglass tower. Located at the west end of Pulau Batu Putih, about 55 km (35 mi) west of Fakfak. Accessible only by boat. Site status unknown. Admiralty Q3347.7; NGA 25925.
Pulau Sabuda
Date unknown. Active; focal plane 100 m (328 ft); two white flashes every 18 s. 17 m (56 ft) square skeletal tower, painted white. No photo available but Bing has a satellite view. Sabuda is an island about 25 km (15 mi) long off the entrance to the Berau Gulf, a large embayment under the "chin" of the Bird's Head. Located at the eastern end of the island. Accessible only by boat; the island is reported to be privately owned. Site status unknown. ARLHS IDO-245; Admiralty Q3348.4; NGA 25940.
Tanjung Wetin
Date unknown. Active; focal plane 31 m (102 ft); white flash every 3 s. Approx. 15 m (49 ft) white fiberglass (?) tower. No photo available but Google has a satellite view. Located on a forested promontory on the north side of the Bomberai Peninsula. Site status unknown. Admiralty Q3348.7; NGA 25938.
* Teluk Kokas (2)
Date unknown. Active; focal plane about 22 m (72 ft); flashing white light (?). Approx. 20 m (66 ft) square skeletal tower painted white. Gustin Siaila's 2022 photo is at right, a second photo is available, and Google has a fuzzy satellite view. NGA lists a 12 m (39 ft) tower for this location. Located on the pier in Kokas, a village on the north side of the Bomberai Peninsula. Site open, tower closed. Admiralty Q3350; NGA 25936.

Teluk Kokas Light, Fakfak Regency, September 2022
Google Maps photo by Gustin Siaila

Teluk Bintuni (Bintuni Gulf) Regency Lighthouses
The Teluk Bintuni Regency surrounds Bintuni Bay, the narrower eastern extension of the Berau Gulf.

Tanjung Tanahmerah (LNG Tengguh) (2?)
Date unknown. Active; focal plane 50 m (164 ft); three white flashes every 15 s. Approx. 30 m (98 ft) square skeletal tower. Bagus Martada has a photo, Marsuki Barru has a photo, and the tower casts a conspicuous shadow in Bing's satellite view. The light is listed by NGA as a 10 m (33 ft) white skeletal tower. Located in the LNG Tengguh natural gas terminal on the upper south side of Bintuni Bay. Site status unknown. Admiralty Q3354; NGA 25932.
Tanjung Karakra
Date unknown. Active (?); focal plane 13 m (43 ft); white flash every 3 s. Approx. 13 m (43 ft) white fiberglass (?) tower. No photo available but Bing has a satellite view. This light has been dropped from the Admiralty list. Located on or just off a low promontory on the north side of the Bintuni Gulf, a large embayment under the "chin" of the Bird's Head. Site status unknown. ex-Admiralty Q3352; NGA 25930.

Southwest Papua Province: Seram Sea Lighthouses

Sorong Selatan (South Sorong) Regency Lighthouses
Tanjung Sabra (2)
2008 (station establishment date unknown). Active; focal plane 36 m (118 ft); white flash every 5 s. 30 m (98 ft) robust steel pole with three galleries, painted white, mounted on a triangular concrete platform supported by piles. Eddy Manibuy has a closeup photo (also seen at right) and Bing has a good satellite view. Located just off a low promontory on the north side of the entrance to the Berau Gulf. Accessible only by boat. Site status unknown. ARLHS IDO-327; Admiralty Q3349; NGA 25928.
Tanjung Sabra West
Date unknown. Active; focal plane 16 m (52 ft); white flash every 5 s. 16 m (52 ft) tower, form unknown, on a platform supported by piles. No photo available and the light is not seen in Bing's satellite view. This light, listed by the Admiralty as "Sabra Cape," marks the edge of shoals west of Tanjung Sabra. Accessible only by boat. Site status unknown. Admiralty Q3349.2.
Tanjung Putus
Date unknown. Active; focal plane 14 m (46 ft); white flash every 3 s. Approx. 12 m (39 ft) white tower. No photo available but Google has a distant satellite view. Located on a swampy point about 25 km (15 mi) northwest of Tanjung Sabra. Accessible only by boat. Site status unknown. Admiralty Q3356; NGA 25926.
Tanjung Bakoi
Date unknown. Active; focal plane 14 m (46 ft); white flash every 3 s. 14 m (46 ft) barbell-shaped white fiberglass tower mounted on a platform supported by piles. No photo available and the light is not shown in Google's satellite view. The light marks the approach to the Waronge estuary. Located at the end of a long shoal on the south side of the approach, about 16 km (10 mi) southwest of the entrance. Accessible only by boat. Site status unknown. Admiralty Q3357.
Teminabuan (Wersmer Teminabuan Port)
Date unknown. Active; focal plane 35 m (115 ft); white flash every 10 s. 30 m (98 ft) square pyramidal white skeletal tower. Moto Jelajah has a 2024 view from the pier, Moto Jelajah also has a 2024 view, and Google has a satellite view. The village of Teminabuan is the seat of South Sorong Regency. Located on the waterfront of the village's small port, on the Waronge estuary about 40 km (25 mi) from the open sea. Site open, tower closed. Admiralty Q3356.8.

Tanjung Sabra Light, Berau Gulf, November 2010
Google Maps photo by Eddy Manibuy

Information available on lost lighthouses:

Notable faux lighthouses:

Adjoining pages: Southeast: Southern Papua | South: Southeastern Maluku | Northwest: Sorong

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Posted December 31, 2008. Checked and revised March 29, 2026. Lighthouses: 27. Site copyright 2026 Russ Rowlett and the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill.