An open day was held over the weekend on the boat which maintains the island’s lighthouses.

Members of the public took the opportunity to look around the NLV Pharos, owned by the Northern Lighthouse Board (NLB), which services navigation aids in both the island and Scotland.

The non-departmental public body currently operates six lighthouses around the island.

The NLB has most recently been carrying out maintenance work on Chicken Rock lighthouse in the south of the island.

This involved repairing the gratings to make sure the tower is safe for workers, carrying out surveys for future project work and doing annual maintenance to the engines.

A second visit to work on the lighthouse is planned for this month, in addition to further works which will be carried out in either 2023/24 or 2024/25.

The NLV Pharaos was docked at Victoria Pier in Douglas harbour for two days, with people being given tours of the vessel and introduced to the crew.

Classed as a ‘lighthouse tender’ vessel, the 84-metre ship is equipped with a crane and can carry a helicopter on its flight deck.

It is responsible for servicing more than 200 automatic lighthouses, buoys and beacons, working mainly in Manx and Scottish waters.

Based in Oban on the west coast of Scotland, the NLV Pharos is also able to carry out hydrographic surveying and wreck finding.