The North Carr is believed to be the last remaining Scottish lightship. With a weight of nearly 270 tons it is equipped with a light and a foghorn, as well as being painted bright red to warn seafarers of the dangerous North Carr rocks which lie just off Fife Ness. A set of rocks inconveniently located near to the turning point for ships sailing between the Tay and Forth estuaries.
Unlike normal ships, it doesn’t have its own engine and propeller, the space is taken up by fuel tanks, three generators to power the light and other electrical services, and three compressors for the foghorn. This meant that they had to rely on it being towed out to the rocks and back again if it ever required servicing. Whilst on station it would rely on an anchor to keep its position.
The lightship was crewed by eleven men but only seven were on board at any one time, most of the crew spent a month at a time on board, with two weeks ashore. In 1975 the lightvessel was replaced by an east cardinal buoy and decommissioned
After decommissioning, the vessel served as a floating museum in Anstruther then relocated to Victoria Dock under the ownership of the Taymara (Tay Maritime Action) charity. Unfortunately Taymara were unable to raise sufficient funds for its restoration and the vessel is now destined to be dismantled and scrapped
