G'day! HMS Spey becomes first Royal Navy ship to dock in Brisbane since 1995

HMS Spey has become the first Royal Navy ship to dock in Brisbane, Australia, in 28 years.

Her visit coincided with the Lionesses winning their game against Nigeria at the 2023 Women's World Cup, which was also taking place in the Sunshine State city.

Local media were invited on board the Royal Navy warship and a special reception was held in honour of the game.

• HMS Spey and HMS Tamar depart Portsmouth for Indo-Pacific deployment
• HMS Spey takes part in Australia's biggest military exercise
• Navy warship visits fourth smallest country on the planet – renewing ties after 97 years

The Batch 2 River-class offshore patrol vessel has been deployed to the Indo-Pacific region since January 2022, sailing more than 69,793 nautical miles.

She has conducted two operations and taken part in two disaster relief missions. 

Last week, HMS Spey tweeted that she had been observing whales in the ocean, helping with her secondary role of monitoring marine biodiversity.

In July, HMS Spey enjoyed a special reunion with her sister ship HMS Tamar in Cairns, the first time they had berthed next to each other in almost two years.

Spey is crewed by 46 sailors, with half of the crew trading places with shipmates from the UK every few weeks.

The constant rotation of crew allows the Navy to get the most out of its ships, with the crews at sea for up to nine months of the year and the vessel ready for operations all year round.