Ships calling at Tyne, Tees, the Humber and the Mersey will pay more towards the UK’s lighthouse service from 1 April 2026. Per‑voyage light dues rise to 46 pence per ton, with a £60 minimum and a £23,000 cap. A further step to 47 pence per ton and a £23,500 cap follows on 1 April 2027. The amending regulations were made on 4 March 2026 and laid before Parliament on Monday 9 March 2026. ([]())

The Department for Transport says the changes correct defects in last year’s rules and tidy up how certain measures are applied. The instrument extends across the United Kingdom and takes legal effect from Wednesday 1 April 2026. ([]())

Light dues pay for the General Lighthouse Authorities via the General Lighthouse Fund, overseen by the Department for Transport. In practice, ships calling at UK ports cover the cost of lighthouses, buoys and radio aids that keep sea lanes safe. (trinityhouse.co.uk)

For Northern operators, the numbers matter. At 46p per ton, a 10,000‑ton ship pays £4,600 per call; a 20,000‑ton ship pays £9,200. The cap bites at 50,000 tons, so very large ships pay £23,000 per voyage this year, rising to £23,500 in 2027. Those figures come before port, pilotage and towage fees.

The rules also switch periodical payments from being calculated on a vessel’s “load line length” to its “registered length”, the measurement recorded on the certificate of registry (or an equivalent foreign certificate). A drafting tweak replaces “less than” with “not exceeding” to remove rounding ambiguity. Agents will want registry documents to hand when settling accounts. ([]())

Exemptions are tidied too: vessels arriving solely for moderation, alteration or scrapping are set out more plainly, and the length‑based exemption in Schedule 1 now uses registered length. The Department has not produced a full impact assessment, stating no significant effects are foreseen. ([]())

Context matters. In 2025 ministers remade the Light Dues Regulations, keeping the per‑voyage rate at 45p per net ton but lifting the tonnage cap from 40,000 to 50,000, which pushed the maximum per call to £22,500. A separate March 2025 amendment fixed an error on small‑ship exemptions. (legislation.gov.uk)

On the ground, short‑sea ro‑ro loops on the North Sea, Irish Sea ferries from Liverpool and Heysham, and bulk and energy calls on the Tees and Humber will feel the change in tight budgets-especially in a year when wider compliance and fuel costs are rising. (shipandbunker.com)

What changes on the quay from April is straightforward: shipping lines and agents will re‑rate pro‑formas and tariff booklets; exporters and forwarders should check how carriers pass through light dues on invoices; and operators with frequent calls may reassess whether the periodical option still works best under the clarified length rule.

The regulations are signed for the Department for Transport by Parliamentary Under‑Secretary Keir Mather. Appointed in September 2025, he now has ministerial responsibility across the maritime brief. We’ll report as ports from Blyth to Barrow publish updated schedules and guidance. ([]())