Sister ships HMS Spey and HMS Tamar reunite Down Under

Royal Navy warships HMS Spey and HMS Tamar have enjoyed a special reunion in Australia after many months apart.

It is the first time the sister ships have been together this year and their first time berthed alongside each other in 666 days.

HMS Tamar took this as a positive sign, tweeting: "In Cairns there are only good Omens," referencing the 1974 horror film The Omen.

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"It's 666 days since we last berthed outboard of our sister ship ... It's great to be in company once again."

HMS Spey has been undergoing a few weeks of maintenance while in Cairns and her crew have been making the most of their time in Queensland, enjoying snorkelling, paddle boarding and excursions.

The Batch 2 River-class offshore patrol vessels are currently on a five-year deployment to the Indo-Pacific.

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

The constant rotation allows the Navy to get the most out of the ships: the crews are at sea for up to nine months of the year, while the vessels are ready for operations all year round.

Acting as the eyes and ears of the Royal Navy, both ships will work with Britain's allies to carry out security patrols to deal with drug running, smuggling, terrorism and other illegal activities.