Royal Navy: Spanish war ships head to Portsmouth Naval base as international stop offs continue

The ESPS Patino, a replenishment oiler, is due to arrive in the Solent in the morning and will be escorted into Portsmouth Harbour at 8.30am. She will be followed in the evening by ESPS Álvaro de Bazán, and air defence frigate, who will be escorted in at 9.20pm.

It comes as an international parade of ships head to Portsmouth as a stopping off point before heading off the Exercise Steadfast Defender with the UK Carrier Strike Group, the largest Nato mission since the Cold War. The Spanish ships follow hot on the heels of the Italian ships the ITS Giuseppe Garibaldi and ITS San Giorgio as well as the American ship the USS Gunston Hall who have all come in and out of Portsmouth throughout the week.

Meanwhile HMS Prince of Wales left Portsmouth on last Monday (February 12) to lead the same exercise featuring 90,000 troops from all 31 NATO Allies. HMS Prince of Wales took the place of HMS Queen Elizabeth who was originally due to lead the Exercise. But a mechanical fault on the propeller shaft coupling discovered during "pre-sailing" checks meant it was unable to go.

She is now expected to travel to Rosyth for repairs.