Royal Navy's newest warship HMS Medway commissioning ceremony in Chatham
08:33, 19 September 2019
updated: 11:17, 19 September 2019
HMS Medway - the nation’s newest warship - will be officially commissioned into the Royal Navy today.
A ceremony is taking place where the ship is docked in Chatham this morning as part of naval festivities in the Towns.
Hundreds of people lined the basin alongside Maritime Way as she squeezed through the narrow lock gates escorted by two tugs on Tuesday afternoon.
Spectators watched on with their phones and cameras poised to grab the shot of the patrol vessel arriving in the area she’s named after.
The ship will be commissioned placing her into active service ahead of her first global deployment at the end of the year.
She will be used for counter-terrorism and anti-smuggling operations to keep Britain safe.
HMS Medway: Your pictures:
The band of the Royal Marines will lead the ship’s company at 11am from the High Street along Dock Road where the Mayor of Medway, Cllr Habib Tejan, will take the salute at the dais outside the council offices.
Tickets for tours of the ship on Sunday were snapped up within hours of being released as 1,200 people booked their places.
HMS Medway, which has a crew of 40 and will be based in Portsmouth, is expected to leave the Towns on Monday.
She is equipped with a flight deck to operate the Merlin helicopter and armed with a 30mm automatic cannon, two miniguns, four machine guns and is capable of more than 24 knots.
We'll be posting updates of the commission today.
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