built at Bergsunds mekaniska verkstad, Stockholm, Sweden

Kopparstenarne station,
position: 58° 35' 15'' North and 19° 9' 3'' East

Grundkallen station,
position: 60° 30' North and 18° 55' East

Västra Banken station,
position: 60° 53' 48'' North and 17° 55' 10'' East

decommissioned and used as a café. During this time the lighthouse and deckhouse had been removed and installed as a museum in Öregrund. The current lighthouse and superstructure was taken from fyrskepp nr. 21 TRELLEBORGS REDD

The lightship was renamed to VÄSTRA BANKEN and is used as a houseboat in Stockholm, Sweden

The lightship is still in Sweden, but now berthed in Gåshaga at Lidingö and offered for sale.

Since November 2005 the lightship has new owners, who are planning something very special with the VÄSTRA BANKEN. During our visit in March 2006 the lightship was captured by ice - this was one of the longest winters in Sweden since 1940.

April 18th, 2006

Today is the day! The ice has melted and the lightship will be taken to the first stage of its probably longest journey. The Danish tug SONTINJA tows the lightship to Rostock in Germany, where it will be overhauled during the next months, before it will be brought to Grenada (West Indies), where it will start its second life as the landmark of the Le Phare Blue Marina & Resort. For more infos see: www.lepharebleu.com

From today the lightship can be found at pier 81 in the City harbour of Rostock, where it will be restored for the next month its second life.

During the last weeks 20 tons of material had been removed from the inside of the lightship and the conservation phase had begun. Today the Västra Banken was towed to the "Volkswerft" in Stralsund, where the rump will be cleaned and repaired, if necessary.

After several month of work the former Swedish lightship VAESTRA BANKEN will leave Rostock (Germany) in a few weeks to become the landmark and heart of the marina "Le Phare Bleu" on the south coast of Grenada in the Caribbean. Yesterday we were invited to Rostock for the farewell party and had a really wonderful evening. Click here to read the full story.

Loading of the VÄSTRA BANKEN took 6 hours and the two cranes of the freighter MV SCHIPPERSGRACHT were pushed to their limit, lifting the 230 ton lightship. On November 7th, 2006 at 11pm the lightship left Rostock. Sheduled arrival in Grenada is December.

The left photos shows how works are going on in Grenada. The left one shows how it will look finally. All we can do now is wait for the arrival of the VÄSTRA BANKEN.

Welcome to paradise, VÄSTRA BANKEN! Finally the lightship reached its destination and is now berthed in the Marina Le Phare Bleu at the island if Grenada. There are some month left until the marina will be opened, but see, the first sailing ship has already arrived.

From today the Le Phare Bleu Restaurant is open to the public. The Austrian Chef Alexander Sattler and his wife Veronika run the fine dining restaurant with approx. 33 seats at the lightship and offer daily fresh and home made speciallities. Enjoy organic fruits and vegetables, exclusively grown for the restaurant from a local farmer along with fresh fish from the surrounding seas. Excellent food and a welcoming service will make your evening the most memorable occasion.

Visitor address:
Le Phare Bleu Restaurant
Petit Calivigny, PO Box 1214, Grand Anse,
St. George's, Grenada, W.I.
Phone (473) 443 3443

If anyone has news, I would be grateful for an e-mail.