Bombay Castle (South China Sea)
Shoal with a lighthouse in the South China Sea
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Bombay Castle, also known in Vietnamese: Đá Ba Kè; Mandarin Chinese: 蓬勃堡; pinyin: Péngbó Bǎo;[1], is a reef with a lighthouse in the Rifleman Bank of the southern Spratly Islands. It is occupied by Vietnam,[2] but also claimed by China (PRC) and Taiwan (ROC).
蓬勃堡 Péngbó Bǎo (Chinese)
| Disputed reef | |
|---|---|
Bombay Castle | |
  Location within Spratly Islands | |
| Other names | Đá Ba Kè (Vietnamese) 蓬勃堡 Péngbó Bǎo (Chinese) |
| Geography | |
| Location | South China Sea |
| Coordinates | 07°50′N 111°40′E |
| Archipelago | Spratly Islands |
| Administration | |
| Trường Sa District | |
| Trường Sa Township | |
| Claimed by | |
Location and topography
Bombay Castle consists of a submerged reef located between 07°50′N 111°40′E and 07°56′N 111°42′E (between 7.833°N 111.667°E and 7.933°N 111.700°E) at the northern end of Rifleman Bank.[3][4] At its shallowest point, it has a depth of 3 metres (9.8 ft) consisting of sand and coral.[5] It is 80 miles (130 km) east of Huyền Trân (Alexandra Bank) and nearly 80 miles (130 km) west of An Bang (Amboyna Cay).[6]
Bombay Castle has a 22.5 metres (74 ft) tall lighthouse on steel pilings that was built in 1995. The lighthouse is two storied, with accommodation for the lighthouse keepers and a dish antenna.[7][8]
The reef is named after the East Indiaman Bombay Castle.[9]
DK1 rigs
In addition to the lighthouse (DK1/21), three other DK1 rigs ("economic, scientific and technological service stations") have been constructed by Vietnam in this area. The current (2015) cluster has 3 rigs in use.