LED Flanking Lights – High Performance Marine-Grade Flank Lighting

LED flanking lights LED lighting fixtures are manufactured for marine settings, in particular ships, and are used for focused and directed illumination such as lighting distant riverbanks, navigating narrow areas like canals, or illuminating a work area near the ship. Examples of use include illuminating riverbanks and shorelines during navigations, finding or avoiding submerged objects, and overall enhancing safety. LED flanking lights are also used to illuminate work areas on the ship or by the ship to provide sufficient lighting and safe work areas.  Wattage and beam spread should be determined by the distance of the object(s) to be navigated around or the depth, width, and distance of the work area being illuminated.

Durability is a Basic Requirement for Marine LED Flanking Lights

LED flanking lights must be manufactured for extreme durability, as maritime environments are harsh. Testing results must be checked to make sure that the light meets a specific standard proving that it is a flanking light and not just a nice LED light.

Corrosion-resistant: Materials must be corrosion-resistant and treated for resilience against saltwater, rain, and severe weather conditions. Meeting testing such as ASTM B117-2018 ensures the flanking light can withstand a 5000-hour salt spray test. 

Vibration: Ships have vibration and constant movement. A 3G vibration test to meet ANSI C136.31-2018 means the flanking light can handle vibration. 

Waterproof: Flanking lights will be exposed to wet locations and possibly water coming up and over the flanking light. To survive flanking lights must be waterproof. All flanking lights should be tested to meet IP66 or higher water resistance. 

Impact Resistant: Sooner or later a flanking light will be hit by something. If there is any glass, it will break compromising the LEDs and the interior connections. A flanking light should never have any glass and must be built to meet IK10 impact resistance. 

Operating Temperature: It’s wet out there It can be very cold too. Even if it is cold out, flanking lights need to work. Make sure the flanking light meets your temperature requirements. 

Surge Protection: Power generators on ships are known for power surges and voltage variances. LED drivers in flanking lights need to have at least 10KA surge protection and be able to handle variations in the voltage being provided. 

LED Life: Over time, while using the same amount of electricity, LEDs produce less life. While flanking lights will break someday, accepting a short LED life is not a good start. Check the L70 rating. L70 @ 50,000 hours means the LEDs will emit 70% of the initial light after 50,000 hours, while L70 @ 200,000 hours means the LEDs will emit 70% of the initial light after 200,000 hours.

Field Testing LED Flanking Light

In 2022, two flanking lights were installed on a commercial fishing vessel that was about to embark on an extensive journey from Spain across the Atlantic Ocean to Panama, and then continuing the voyage in the Pacific Ocean. Part of the function of the voyage was to test two different flanking lights, that could be used to illuminate an area on the side of the ship when fishing. One flanking light was from Access Fixtures and the light was from another company.

The Access Fixtures’ flanking light, while officially rated as IP66 to provide a safety margin, is manufactured with the IP68 air tightness tested at 30KPa with test points at each light module, the supporting frame, and the junction box. The Access Fixtures flanking light is also manufactured with a superior Akzo Nobel powder coat anti-corrosion finish tested to exceed over 5000m hours of salty spray. It is structured to pass a 3G vibration test and an IK10 impact test too.

The Access Fixtures flanking light had no issues withstanding the Atlantic and Pacific oceans, demonstrating resilience throughout the 8-month real-life test environment. The other manufacturer’s light fixture was rusting away.

Access Fixtures LED Flanking Lights Meet and Exceed Requirements

Corrosion-resistant: Meets ASTM B117-2018 5000-hour salt spray test. 

Vibration: Meets ANSI C136.31-2018 3G vibration 

Waterproof: Built to meet IP68 standards. Rated IP66. 

Impact Resistant: No glass. IK10 impact resistance. If one light module gets destroyed or hit by a bullet, the other light modules remain on. 

Operating Temperature: -40°C to +50°C

Surge Protection: 10KA surge protection standard. Operates with a voltage range of 100-277VAC. 

LED Life: L70 @ 200,000 hours 

Optics: Large choice of optics to meet specific illumination requirements 

Wattage: 10w to 2400w provides the level of illumination required for any application

Mounts: Every type of mount to provide secure and/or directed illumination

Download The LED Flanking Lights Product Information Catalog