Paying a one-day visit to the Naval Base on Wednesday will be the MV Eddystone. The vessel will be ‘stern-moored’ on the South Mole whilst vehicles, stores and equipment needed by the forthcoming ‘Exercise 31 Shot’ are unloaded.

A British Forces spokesman said: “‘31 Shot’ is a Royal Engineers exercise which will carry out repairs to various MOD buildings, cables and fences. In the local community, the Sappers will also be installing the new bell at St Bernard’s Church and refurbishing the otter enclosure at the Alameda Gardens wildlife park.

“In addition to the Sappers’ stores, the MV Eddystone will unload a ‘REMUS’ unmanned underwater vehicle used by the Royal Navy for the detection of metallic objects buried in the sea bed. REMUS will be used to complement the survey work being done in the Bay of Gibraltar by HMS Enterprise, prior to it being deployed to survey the waters off Iraq.

“MV Eddystone is one of six roll on/roll off ships procured for the MOD under a Private Finance Initiative and available for use as naval auxiliaries. These Point Class ships are designed for the strategic transport of military cargoes and vehicles in times of need. It was the original intention that the ships would be available for use as merchantmen when they are not required for military service but they have been employed on MOD duties almost constantly since the build-up to the Iraq invasion in 2003.”