Only one bidder enticed by Diamond Shoals light

A sealed auction has closed for the long abandoned Diamond Shoals Light Tower, with a Minnesota-based company the only bidder.

Zap Water Technology Inc. bid $17,200 and was the lone bidder listed on the GSA website for the auction, which closed Friday.

Dave Schneider, president & CEO of Zap Water Technology Inc. of Richfield, Minn. confirmed by e-mail Tuesday that his company had bid on the light tower 13 miles southeast of Cape Hatteras in the Atlantic Ocean.

“I have not had been contacted by the (General Services Administration) yet regarding Diamond Shoals,” said Schneider.

Schneider said he would have more to say once he received confirmation from the GSA on the bid.

The General Services Administration, which handles the disposal of surplus government property, was accepting minimum bids of $15,000 through Aug. 31 for the oil drilling platform, known as a “Texas Tower,” on top of four steel legs that has been modified to be used as a lighthouse, according to the auction listing.

The platform consists of two floors, with a living area of about 5,000 square feet that includes five bedrooms, a kitchen, office, storage area, recreation area and toilet facilities.

The auction listing said the platform in its current condition cannot support a helicopter landing, and the ladder from the ocean surface to the light tower has been destroyed.

A 2010 inspection report by the Coast Guard estimates repairs to the tower would cost at least $2.3 million.

The light tower was built in Louisiana and brought by barge to Diamond Shoals in 1966. Prior to the light tower, light ships had marked the shoals for about 100 years.

According to Zap Technology’s website, the company uses an electrochemical process with salt and water to make an FDA-approved non-toxic sanitizer/cleaner for home and business use.

Take a video tour of the light station.

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