Politics, environment, farming and more in your new free Western Morning News newsletter - direct to your inbox every day Sign up Thank you for subscribing See our privacy notice Invalid Email

The newest patrol ship in the Royal Navy Fleet has reported for duty - just in time for Brexit.

HMS Medway – the second of the five Batch 2 River class offshore patrol vessel (OPVs) - was officially welcomed into the Royal Navy with a Commissioning Ceremony at Chatham Dockyard yesterday. She has, however, already seen active service, and shadowed a Russian Navy cruiser, Marshal Ustinov, as she sailed from the North Sea, past Dover and into the Channel.

The new warship is, alongside a counter terrorism and maritime defence role, designed for fishery protection and border patrol duties - which could become flashpoints after the UK leaves the EU.

Back in July, Brexit party MEP Robert Rowland suggested the Royal Navy would sink EU fishing vessels that enter a 200 mile exclusion zone around the United Kingdom.

Mr Rowland said EU vessels that entered the exclusion zone would be "given the same treatment as the Belgrano" - an Argentinian warship that was torpedoed by a British submarine during the Falklands War with the loss of 323 lives.

HMS Medway's sister ship, HMS Forth, will guard the Falklands - and the Royal Navy announced she was ready for action on the anniversary of the day the islands were liberated from Argentine military occupation.

"We are behind all our fisherman and the restoration of sovereignty over our waters. 200 miles of exclusion zone with any foreign fishing vessel given the same treatment as the Belgrano!" said Mr Rowland, in a post on Twitter that was wdiely condemned and criticised by other MEPs and fishermen's groups.

Last month, a commanding officer aboard OPV has vowed the Senior Service will do "whatever is required" and "follow orders" if Brexit causes issues with the Irish border. A border could be created within British territorial waters, rather than on the Irish mainland, if the Northern Irish backstop plan is withdrawn - although this option has been blocked by the DUP, whose support allowed the Conservatives to form a minority Government after the 2017 General Election resulted in a hung Parliament.

A Royal Navy spokesperson said HMS Medway is now "ready fior duty" after her commissioning ceremony.

"The new OPVs provide much greater capability, including a flight deck, increased top speed and longer endurance at sea," said the spokeserson.

"The better endurance of HMS Medway and her fellow class ships means they can be deployed overseas as well as in home waters.

"They will undertake a variety of roles, including counter-terrorism, anti-smuggling, maritime defence and counter-narcotics as well as securing the UK’s borders and protecting UK interests around the globe."

Yesterday, Portsmouth-based HMS Medway sailed to the docks in Kent on the River Medway – the waterway she’s named after – for the ceremony and is now ready to deploy where the navy needs her most.

The new warship – the second of the five Batch 2 River class OPVs – welcomed guests and the families of the ship’s company for the service and for tours of the ship, while locals lined the banks to watch the ceremony in the sunshine.

Commander Ben Power, the ship’s commanding officer, said: “It is special to be commissioning this ship here on the River Medway, an area that has an incredibly strong connection with the Royal Navy going back to the 16th Century.

“We have a part to play in the very bright future of the Royal Navy. Medway is a very fine ship, she’s slick, fast and agile.”

The first steel for HMS Medway was cut by BAE Systems in June 2015 in Glasgow. The ship’s company then moved on board in May 2019 and the ship first sailed in June, joining her sister ship HMS Forth in Portsmouth.

HMS Medway then began sea trials that were completed in just 75 days which according to naval records is the shortest time since World War II.

Ship’s sponsor, Lady Fallon, who named the ship at Scotstoun yard on the Clyde, attended the ceremony.

Addressing the sailors, she said: “I have been following the progress of Medway since 2015 and we’ve had a number of milestones since then.

“Now on this beautiful day, having completed her recent sea trials, in record time, here we are at another milestone here in historic Chatham.

LATEST ROYAL NAVY AND ROYAL MARINE NEWS HERE

“After all the hard work over the previous years I’m so pleased that all of you are here and have the opportunity to join together and celebrate this commissioning.”

The Batch 2 OPV programme of five state-of the art vessels represents a Ministry of Defence investment of £648m providing 800 jobs for Clyde shipyard BAE workers; retaining their skills whilst demonstrating new production processes vital to the production of the Royal Navy’s new Type 26 Frigates. All five Batch 2 OPV’s are to be delivered to the Royal Navy by 2021.