Lighthouses of Indonesia: Raja Ampat Islands, Western 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 of the Raja Ampat Regency, separated from Sorong Regency in 2003 as a regency within Southwest Papua Province. The regency comprises the Raja Ampat Islands, a loose group of islands, large and small, lying off the western tip of Papua. The name means "Four Kings," and there are four large islands: Misool in the south, Salawati and Batanta in the center just off the Papuan coast, and Waigeo to the north. The administrative center of the regency is at Waisai on Waigeo Island.

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 - Vol Q and Vol. F
Photos by various photographers posted by Alexander Trabas. Volume Q includes light south of the Equatir and Volume F has lights north of the Equator.
Google Maps
Satellite view of the islands.

Pulau Agusta Light, Weigeo, October 2014
Google Maps photo by Franco Di Nardo
Pulau Misool Area Lighthouse
Pulau Nampale
Date unknown. Active; focal plane 46 m (151 ft); three white flashes every 20 s. Approx. 30 m (98 ft) square white skeletal tower. Four 1-story coast guard station buildings. No photo available but Google has the satellite view seen at right. Located on the northeast tip of Pulau Nampale, an island off the west end of Pulau Misool. Accessible only by boat. Site status unknown. Admiralty Q3357.5; NGA 25948.5.

Salawati and Batanta Area Lighthouses
Pulau Boo Besar
Date unknown. Active; focal plane 34 m (112 ft); two white flashes every 10 s. 30 m (98 ft) octagonal white concrete tower with gallery; lantern removed. A photo is at right and Google has a satellite view. This light marks an important passage between the Halmahera and Seram Seas. The Royal Australian Navy has an article mentioning that its ships Hawkesbury and Cape Leeuwin established (or re-established) this light in July 1945 to reopen the shipping lane through the East Indies. Boo Besar is a small island at the extreme western end of the Boo Islands, a group about 65 km (40 mi) north of Pulau Misool. Located in the Halmahera Sea about 160 km (100 mi) northeast of Obi and about 200 km (125 mi) west of the western tip of Papua (New Guinea). Accessible only by boat. Site status unknown. ARLHS IDO-193; Admiralty Q1603.5; NGA 25948.7.
Pulau Kofiau (Tanjung Soos)
Date unknown. Active; focal plane 46 m (151 ft); white flash every 5 s. 45 m (148 ft) square skeletal tower with lantern and gallery, painted white; lantern painted red. Four 1-story coast guard station buildings. A 2010 photo is available and Bing has a satellite view of the station. Located at the eastern end of Pulau Kofiau, which is also the eastern end of the Boo Islands. Accessible only by boat. Site status unknown. Admiralty Q3361; NGA 25949.
Pulau Ifmun (2?)
Date unknown. Active; focal plane 33 m (108 ft) (?); white flash every 7.5 s. Approx. 18 m (59 ft) square skeletal tower, painted white and mounted on a square platform supported by piles. No photo available but Google has a satellite view. The tower appears to have replaced a similar tower placed at the edge of the land. Until 2014 NGA listed a light at or near this location as "Kepulauan Kabu, Ifmoen," but that listing has been dropped. Located at the west end of a small island just off the westernmost tip of Pulau Salawati. Accessible only by boat. Site open, tower closed. Admiralty Q3361.5; ex-NGA 26018.
Pulau Boo Besar Light
Pulau Boo Besar Light, Raja Ampat Islands, July 2009
ex-Panoramio photo copyright muhajir3012; used by permission
Selat Sagawin (Sagawin Strait, Pulau Batanta)
Date unknown. Active; focal plane 115 m (377 ft); two white flashes every 10 s. 10 m (33 ft) square skeletal tower, painted white, rising from a square station building. No photo available but Bing has a satellite view. Located on the south side of Pulau Batanta, marking the western entrance to the Sagawin Strait separating Salawati and Batanta. Accessible only by boat. Admiralty Q3363.5; NGA 26020.
Tanjung Warangket (2)
2007 (station establishment date unknown). Active; focal plane 74 m (243 ft); two white flashes every 10 s. Square skeletal tower with gallery, height unknown but at least 20 m (66 ft). A photo is at right and Google has a satellite view. Located on a promontory on the north coast of Pulau Salawati, marking the narrowest passage of the Sagawin Strait separating Salawati and Batanta. Accessible only by boat. Site status unknown. Admiralty Q3364.

Weigeo Area Lighthouses
Pulau Agusta
Date unknown. Active (?); focal plane 22.5 m (74 ft); white flash every 5 s. 23 m (75 ft) octagonal white concrete tower with gallery. This light appears to be abandoned. Franco Di Nardo has the 2014 photo at the top of this page, Alberto Tudech has a partial 2019 street view, and Google has a satellite view. Located just off the east coast of a small island at the western end of the Dampier Strait separating Weigeo from Batanta. Accessible only by boat. Site status unknown. ARLHS IDO-189; Admiralty Q3362.5; NGA 26021.
Saonek Besar
Date unknown. Active; focal plane 62 m (203 ft); white flash every 7.5 s. Approx. 30 m (98 ft) square skeletal communications tower with gallery, painted white. Staffed station. Richard Monny has a photo and Google has a satellite view. Saonek Besar is a small but densely populated island about 5 km (3 mi) southwest of Waisai, a port on the south coast of Waigeo. The island is known as a base for scuba diving expeditions. Located atop a bluff on the southern tip of Saonek Besar. Site status unknown. Admiralty Q3363; NGA 26022.
Saonek Mondei
Date unknown. Active; focal plane about 14 m (46 ft); red light, pattern unknown. Approx. 14 m (46 ft) square skeletal tower painted red and mounted on a square platform supported by piles. No photo available but Google has a satellite view. Located just off the southeast coast of a small island about 3 km (1.8 mi) northeast of Saonek Basar. Accessible only by boat. Site open, tower closed. Admiralty Q3363.1.
Karang Waisai (Waisai Reef)
Date unknown. Active; focal plane about 14 m (46 ft), green light, pattern unknown. Approx. 14 m (46 ft) square green skeletal tower on a platform supported by piles. No photo available but Bing has a satellite view. Located at the west end of a long reef parallel to the south coast of Waigao, about 4 km (2.5 mi) southeast of Pulau Saonek. Accessible only by boat. Site open, tower closed. Admiralty Q3363.45.
* [Pelabuhan 300 Waisai]
Date unknown. Active; focal plane about 16 m (52 ft); white light, pattern unknown. Approx. 14 m (46 ft) white mast. Abdul Aziz has a photo and Google has a distant satellite view. Located at the base of the pier at a anewer ferry terminal about 20 km (13 mi) east of the traditional Waisai harbor. Site open, tower closed. Not listed by the Admiralty.
Waisai Entrance
Date unknown. Active; focal plane about 16 m (52 ft); green light, pattern unknown. Approx. 16 m (52 ft) square skeletal tower painted green and mounted on a square platform supported by piles. Gunawan Saputra has a distant view from the Waisai waterfront, Ismu Hidayat has a distant street view, and Google has an indistinct satellite view. Located on a shoal on the east side of the entrance to Waisai, the capital of Raja Ampat Regency, on the south side of Waigeo. Accessible only by boat. Site open, tower closed. Admiralty Q3363.4.
Pelabuhan Waisai
Date unknown. Active; focal plane about 10 m (33 ft); red light, pattern unknown. Approx. 10 m (33 ft) square wood skeletal tower. Ismu Hidayat has a street view from the Waisai waterfront and Google has a satellite view. Located on a shoal opposite the quay at Waisai. Accessible only by boat but easy to see from the dock. Site open, tower closed. Admiralty Q3363.3.
Teluk Kabarei West
Date unknown. Active; focal plane about 13 m (43 ft); green light, pattern unknown. Approx. 13 m (43 ft) square green skeletal tower on a platform supported by piles. Google has a very distant street view and Bing has an indistinct satellite view. Located on a shoal on the west side of the entrance to Kabarei Bay, a harbor on the north coast of Waigeo. Accessible only by boat. Site open, tower closed. Admiralty Q3363.2.
Kabarei
Date unknown. Active; focal plane about 25 m (82 ft); white light, pattern unknown. Approx. 23 m (75 ft) square white skeletal tower. Google has a street view and a satellite view. Located on the waterfront at Kabarei. Site open, tower closed. Not listed by the Admiralty.


Tanjung Warangket Light, Pulau Salawati, January 2010
ex-Panoramio photo copyright muhajir3012; used by permission


Kaberei Light, Kaberei., Apil 2018
Google Maps street view by WeBlogWater

Teluk Kabarei East
Date unknown. Active; focal plane about 13 m (43 ft); red light, pattern unknown. Approx. 13 m (43 ft) square red skeletal tower on a platform supported by piles. No photo available but Bing has an indistinct satellite view. Located on a shoal on the west side of the entrance to Kabarei Bay, a harbor on the north coast of Waigeo. Accessible only by boat. Site open, tower closed. Admiralty Q3363.25.

Asia and Ayu Islands Lighthouses
The three Asia Islands are north of the Equator and about 117 km (73 mi) north of the island of Weigeo. Also north of the Equator, the two atolls of the Ayu Islands lie halfway between the Asia Islands and Weigeo.

Pulau Fani
Date unknown. Active; focal plane 15 m (49 ft); two white flashes every 10 s. "White beacon"; the tower height is unknown but as the island is quite flat the tower is probably about 15 m (49 ft) in height. No photo available but Google has an indistinct satellite view of this beacon. This light marks the northern end of the Asia islands (Kepulauan Asia), NGA has placed the light erroneously under Palau in Publication 111. Accessible only by boat. Site status unknown. Admiralty F2112; NGA 111-10933.
Pelabuhan Fani
Date unknown. Active; focal plane about 10 m (33 ft); white light, pattern unknown. Approx. 8 m (26 ft) round white barbell-shaped tower. Iksan Mahar's 2019 photo is at right, a 2022 photo is available, and Google has a satellite view. Located at the coast guard station on the southern tip of Pulau Fani. Accessible only by boat. Site status unknown. Not listed by the Admiralty.
Pulau Budd
Date unknown. Active; focal plane 35 m (115 ft); two white flashes every 10 s. Approx. 30 m (98 ft) square white skeletal tower. No photo available but Bing has an indistinct satellite view. Located on a small island west of the main Ayu group. Accessible only by boat. Site status unknown. Admiralty F2113.

Pelabuhan Fani Light, Asia Islands, December 2019
Google Maps photo by Iksan Mahar

Information available on lost lighthouses:

Notable faux lighthouses:

Adjoining pages: East: Sorong | South: Southeastern Maluku | West: Central Maluku

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Posted December 31, 2008. Checked and revised February 3, 2025. Lighthouses: 18. Site copyright 2025 Russ Rowlett and the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill.