Lightship Ambrose

The first lightship on station in the Ambrose Channel was the Sandy Hook, which marked its south edge for 37 years from 1854 to 1891.

[3] A steamship, she was the first U.S. lightship to have an all-steel hull and fastenings, and the first to use electric lights; she was also the last ship to hold the post on the southern side of the channel, near Sandy Hook.

As a result of this incident, Standard Oil was forced to pay for the construction of LV111, which served as the Lightship Ambrose from 1932 to 1952.

In 1964, she was retired from the United States Coast Guard, and in 1968, she was given to the South Street Seaport Museum in Lower Manhattan in New York City and moored at Pier 16 on the East River.

In January 1950, she was "brushed" in heavy fog by an unidentified vessel, suffering damage to her radio antenna and losing her spare anchor.

Eleven weeks later, in March 1950, Santa Monica, another Grace Line vessel, rammed Ambrose in a dense fog, rupturing her hull.

She alternated with her sister ship, the Lightship Nantucket (WLV-612), on station, relieving each other approximately every 21 days, and was retired in 1983 after 31 years of service.