Giant Royal Navy helicopter carrier HMS Ocean, the largest ship in the Royal Navy, has sailed into Sunderland for the start of a four day visit.

Affiliated to Sunderland, the 22,500 tonne amphibious assault ship will dock alongside at Corporation Quay ready to enjoy a very busy time in port.

A number of events have been organised during the ship’s time alongside in Sunderland commencing on Friday evening with an official reception on board for invited guests from the Sunderland area. On Saturday, the ship will be visited by local Sea Cadet units and members of the ship’s crew will be ashore variously taking part in everything from a rugby match with Blaydon RFC, a guided tour of the Stadium of Light and a local theatre visit.

But Sunday is the really big day, when it’s all hands on deck as Ocean throws open her gangway to visitors from 10.30am to 4pm. There will be an opportunity to experience the sheer size of the ship and to get a close up look at the Lynx and Apache helicopters on her flight deck.

“We really enjoy being able to bring this great ship into Sunderland,” said Commanding Officer Captain Simon Kings. “We are lucky enough to have really strong ties here with our affiliated city and we always get a great welcome.

“And we hope that as many people as possible will come along on Sunday to have a look around the ship for themselves and chat to members of the crew.

“The hospitality we receive while we are visiting Sunderland is always second to none – we’re proud that the Sunderland people have taken us so much to heart. And it’s always nice to be able to give something back, which is why we like to be able to open the ship up for visitors.”

HMS Ocean's crew was granted freedom of the city in July 2004 and this will be their sixth visit to Sunderland.

Councillor Paul Watson, the Leader of Sunderland City Council, said: “HMS Ocean plays a very important role in the hearts of Sunderland people and they are very proud of their adopted warship. We’re very much looking forward to welcoming the ship and her crew to the city.”

HMS Ocean is a sea-going commando base, capable of rapid deployment anywhere in the world.

At full capacity, a giant hangar can accommodate 12 Sea King helicopters and12 Lynx, and the ship contributes to surface assault with her four landing craft. She can also embark 550 Royal Marines, with full accommodation, in addition to her regular crew, which numbers 385 crew and 206 aircrew.

Her secondary roles include afloat training, a limited anti-submarine warfare (ASW) platform and a base for anti-terrorist operations. For her own defence, the ship is armed with three Phalanx multi-barrelled radar controlled gun, capable of firing 4,000 rounds per minute, four 20mm guns, four miniguns and eight general purpose machine guns.

Earlier this year the ship conducted a six month deployment to the Far East as part of the Operation Taurus 09 Task Group, forming the biggest Royal Navy deployment to the region in more than a decade.

The task group sailed in February and returned to the UK in August. During the deployment the task group conducted a wide range of activities, including maritime security operations, anti-piracy patrols and exercising amphibious and anti-submarine warfare, culminating in a multi-national amphibious and jungle training exercise in the deployment’s most easterly point of Brunei.

At its height, 3,300 personnel took part in the 27,000 mile round-trip deployment, interacting, training and building relations with 17 nations.

HMS Ocean was built by Kvaerner Govan on the Clyde and fitted out at Barrow-in-Furness. She was launched on 11 October 1995 and named by Her Majesty The Queen on 20 February 1998.