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When a piece of safety-critical equipment on a helideck goes end-of-life, the stakes are high. The green perimeter lighting on an offshore helipad isn't cosmetic — it's an aviation safety requirement. When Aqua Signal discontinued their BK 18 100 LED Heli Landing Light, operators were left without an obvious replacement path.

At Oleron, we were approached by a vessel operator who needed exactly this unit. Here's how we solved it.

Why Helideck Lighting Can't Wait

Offshore vessel helidecks must comply with CAP 437 (UK CAA), IOGP standards, and flag state requirements. Perimeter lighting — including the green approach sector lights — is not discretionary. A non-compliant or non-functional light means the helideck is grounded: no helicopter operations until the defect is rectified.

For offshore support vessels, platform supply ships, and any vessel that regularly operates helicopter transfer operations, a failed helideck light can halt operations within hours of the next scheduled flight. The window to source and fit a replacement is narrow.

The Challenge: No OEM Route Available

When the operator's procurement team went to source a replacement through the standard channel — ordering directly from Aqua Signal or an authorised distributor — they hit a wall. Aqua Signal had discontinued the BK 18 100 and its part number ART. 1090 9941 00, with no published successor or cross-reference to a current product in their range.

Multiple marine electrical suppliers confirmed the same dead end. The part number returned no stock, no alternatives, no timeline.

That's when they called Oleron.

How Oleron Found the Solution

Our approach to obsolescence problems starts with the specification, not the part number. Rather than searching catalogues for the old Aqua Signal reference, we extracted the critical performance and dimensional requirements from the original unit and went to our global manufacturing network with a brief.

The BK 18 100 is a flush-mounted, deck-embedded LED fixture designed for helideck perimeter use. The specification that matters: the green colour output, the beam angle, the IP rating, the fixture diameter and mounting flange, and the electrical interface. Every one of those had to be matched precisely for a true drop-in replacement.

The Result

The replacement unit is a true one-to-one substitute for the Aqua Signal ART. 1090 9941 00. The vessel's crew can fit it using the existing deck aperture, existing cabling, and existing mounting hardware. There is no structural modification, no re-wiring, and no need for additional class or flag state approval for the installation itself.

What This Means for Other Operators

If you have vessels with Aqua Signal BK 18 100 helideck lights — either as a known defect, as an ageing unit approaching end of life, or as a preventive spares requirement — Oleron can supply the replacement directly.

The Broader Lesson: Obsolescence Is a Fleet Risk

This case is one example of a pattern we see constantly across fleet maintenance. Safety-critical equipment — lights, sensors, control modules, valves — has a much shorter commercial lifecycle than the vessels it's fitted to. OEMs discontinue product lines, consolidate ranges, or exit the marine market entirely. When that happens, the operator is left holding a vessel with no OEM sourcing route for a mandatory component.

The companies that manage this risk best are the ones who work with a supplier who keeps eyes on manufacturer lifecycle data and can pivot to custom-manufactured or alternative-sourced replacements when the OEM route closes. That's exactly what Oleron does — and this helideck light is a clean example of how it works in practice.