HMS Medway tour tickets sold out ahead of Royal Navy ship's commissioning in Chatham
11:25, 17 September 2019
updated: 12:00, 17 September 2019
Tickets for tours around the Navy's latest warship have sold out within hours.
HMS Medway will arrive in Chatham today ahead of her commissioning this week.
The Royal Navy offered 1,200 free tickets to members of the public to view the ship on Sunday.
But they were swiftly snapped up on the Eventbrite website which is already showing that tickets are no longer available.
A Royal Navy spokesman confirmed the tickets were sold out but added discussions are taking place to potentially increase the numbers of tours.
An announcement will be made if more tickets are made available.
The 45-minute tours will run between 10am and 4pm on Sunday culminating the celebrations of the ship being officially launched into active service.
The commissioning will take place on Thursday morning in the basin alongside Maritime Way.
The event will be closed to the public but people can watch proceedings from public land around the commissioning site.
HMS Medway is the fleet's latest patrol vessel and will take on active duty around the globe to prevent terrorism and carry out anti-smuggling operations.
The ship is expected to sail down the River Medway from her overnight anchorage in the Thames off Southend this afternoon arriving at 2pm.
She left her berth in London late yesterday afternoon passing under the Dartford Crossing and Gravesend at about 5pm.
The crew will be granted the Freedom of Medway during a parade through Chatham on Saturday morning before taking part in the Salute to the 40s weekend at Chatham Historic Dockyard.
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