The Republic of Vanuatu is an independent nation in the southwest Pacific Ocean, west of Fiji and northeast of New Caledonia. During the colonial period Britain and France maneuvered inconclusively to gain control of the archipelago. Finally, in 1906, the two countries worked out an arrangement for jointly administering the islands as the Condominium of the New Hebrides. The country became independent in 1980 with the name Vanuatu.
Vanuatu has some 65 inhabited islands in a loose, volcanic chain about 1300 km (800 mi) long. The capital is Port Vila on the island of Efate in the central part of the chain. The second largest town is Luganville on the island of Espiritu Santo near the northern end of the country. During World War II Luganville was an important base for Allied naval forces fighting the Japanese at Guadalcanal in the Solomon Islands.
The common spoken language in Vanuatu is Bislama, an English-based creole. For example, in Bislama laet haos is a lighthouse, aelan is an island and rif is a reef. English and French are also official languages.
Aids to navigation in Vanuatu are the responsibility of the Ports and Marine Department. Port Vila and Luganville are the only international ports.
ARLHS numbers are from the ARLHS World List of Lights. Admiralty numbers are from volume Kof the Admiralty List of Lights & Fog Signals. Light List numbers are from NGA Publication 111.
- General Sources
- World of Lighthouses - Vanuatu
- Photos by various photographers available from Lightphotos.net.
- South Pacific Lighthouses
- Photos taken in 2017 by Larry Myhre.
- Online List of Lights - Vanuatu
- Photos by various photographers posted by Alexander Trabas. Vanuatu photos are by Rainer Arndt.
- Vanuatu Map
- Thiis map is from the Encyclopedoa Britannica.
- GPSNauticalCharts
- Navigational chart information for Vanuatu.
Pango Point Light, Efate, April 2017
Flickr Creative Commons photo by Larry Myhre
