RMAS Lodestone

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

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

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

• RMAS Magnet (A114)