Royal Navy's HMS Mersey docks in Belfast

The Royal Navy’s HMS Mersey has docked in Belfast.

Built in 2003, the ship is the youngest of the original batch of River-class offshore patrol vessels.

HMS Mersey is also one of the Navy’s busiest ships, averaging 220 days at sea every year.

The Navy says “most of those are dedicated to fishery protection, working alongside her sisters to ensure that fishing boats and trawlers stick to agreed quotas and regulations on behalf of the Marine Management Organisation.”

But HMS Mersey is also frequently involved in monitoring the movements of foreign warships as they pass the UK.

A Royal Navy spokesperson added: “HMS Mersey is currently on a planned routine visit to Belfast for a logistics stop. She has been recently spent time on patrol in the North Sea, North Atlantic and Irish Sea, protecting the nations interests in home waters.”

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