Lightship WAL-605, RELIEF
historic place
In Oakland, California, you'll find Lightship WAL-605, known as RELIEF. This historic vessel, built in Maine in 1950, was one of only six lightships constructed specifically for the U.S. Coast Guard. She was commissioned in 1951. Her service began at the Overfalls lightship station off Delaware Bay. In 1960, she transferred to the West Coast, serving at Blunts Reef off Cape Mendocino, California, until 1969. That year, she was renamed 'Relief,' acting as a replacement for other Pacific coast lightships. Lightship RELIEF was decommissioned in 1976. The U.S. Lighthouse Society acquired her in 1986. She was designated a National Historic Landmark in 1989 and is also California Historical Landmark 1036. Now a museum ship in Oakland, Lightship RELIEF represents the final era of American lightship operations.