RMAS Lodestone alongside (behind) HMS Speedy (P296) in 1982

RMAS Lodestone (A115) was a Magnet-class Royal Navy degaussing ship. She was completed in 1980 by the Clelands Shipbuilding Company.[1]

The Magnet-class was developed to replace the Ham-class minesweepers that had been converted for degaussing. They are 828 gross tonnage (GT) and have a top speed of 14 knots. They measure 55m x 12m x 4m.[2]

Bleu de Nîmes

Bleu de Nîmes in 2013

In 1997 she was sold to an Italian millionaire and towed initially to Devonport for conversion to a luxury yacht,[3] the Bleu de Nîmes (IMO 7813913).[4]

The extensive rebuild in Turkey was completed in 2005. Another rebuild in Italy completed in 2020 increased her length by 16 metres to 72.25 metres (237 ft).[5]

In February 2022 she was chartered by the government of Mauritius for a fifteen day expedition to the Chagos Archipelago following international court rulings that Mauritius is sovereign there.[6][7]

See also

References

  1. ↑ "Lodestone". Tyne Built Ships. Shipping and Shipbuilding Research Trust. Retrieved 21 February 2022.
  2. ↑ Mike Crichley (1982). British Warships and Auxiliaries. Maritime Books. p. 97.
  3. ↑ "Ships Monthly". 33. Endlebury Publishing Company. 1998: 17. {{cite journal}}: Cite journal requires |journal= (help)
  4. ↑ "Bleu de Nimes (ex Lodestone)". yachtspotter.com. 2010. Retrieved 20 February 2022.
  5. ↑ Merl, Risa (19 October 2021). "Bleu de Nîmes: The 72m navy ship that became a superyacht". Boat International. Retrieved 21 February 2022.
  6. ↑ Bowcott, Owen; Rinvolucri, Bruno (13 February 2022). "Mauritius measures reef hoping to lay claim on Chagos Islands". The Guardian. Retrieved 14 February 2022.
  7. ↑ Bowcott, Owen; Rinvolucri, Bruno (20 February 2022). "Chagossian exiles celebrate emotional return as UK tries to justify control". The Guardian. Retrieved 20 February 2022.
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