Lobelia (M921) is a of the Belgian Naval Component, launched on 3 February 1988 at the Mercantile-Belyard shipyard in Rupelmonde

Rupelmonde

Rupelmonde is a town in the municipality of Kruibeke, in the Belgian province of East Flanders. It stands on the bank of the river Schelde opposite the confluence of the eponymous Rupel, and is famed for its sundials as well as having what is probably Belgium's only tidemill...

 and christened

Ship naming and launching

The ceremonies involved in naming and launching naval ships are based in traditions thousands of years old.-Methods of launch:There are three principal methods of conveying a new ship from building site to water, only two of which are called "launching." The oldest, most familiar, and most widely...

 by Anne Van De Kerckhof, the wife of the then Mayor of Diest, on 25 February 1989. The patronage of the Lobelia was accepted by the city of Diest

Diest

Diest is a city and municipality located in the Belgian province of Flemish Brabant. Situated in the northeast of the Hageland region, Diest neighbours the provinces of Antwerp to its North, and Limburg to the East and is situated around 60km from Brussels. The municipality comprises the city of...

. It was the seventh of the Belgian Tripartite-class minehunters. The Belgian Naval Component announced on its website on 5 November 2007 that Mrs. Van De Kerckhof, the godmother of the Lobelia, had died on 27 October. A delegation of the crew of the M921 Lobelia attended her funeral.

Lobelia is currently commanded by Lieutenant

Ship-of-the-Line Lieutenant

Ship-of-the-line lieutenant is a common naval rank, equivalent to the naval rank of Lieutenant in the UK, Commonwealth and US.The name of the rank derives from the name of the largest class of warship, the ship of the line, as opposed to smaller types of warship .The rank is lieutenant de vaisseau...

First Class Yacin Nini.