Blink and you would have missed it but the recommissioned Royal Navy patrol vessel HMS Severn, resplendent in new camouflage paint, sailed past Sheppey today.

It had been to London for its official recommissioning ceremony and was spotted in the Thames Estuary sailing past the masts of the wreck of the American Second World War bomb ship the SS Richard Montgomery.

One person to capture the spectacle was Adam Young who runs the Swale Weather website. He posted a selection of photos on social media and was surprised to get a reply from the crew.

They Tweeted: "With the wreck of SS Richard Montgomery in the foreground. Nice!"

The Royal Navy patrol ship had been berthed at Tower Bridge next to the Second World War cruiser HMS Belfast for its celebrations on Saturday.

The River-class off-shore patrol vessel was built in 2002 by Vosper Thornycroft at Southampton and patrolled home fishing grounds and overseas waters, including an eight-month stint in the Caribbean, for 14 years until she was "paid off" in October 2017.

But within a year, Top Brass realised she was too good to lose and she became the first Royal Navy vessel to be brought back to life since the Falklands conflict of 1982.

Her distinctive paint job, mirroring ships which waged the Battle of the Atlantic 80 years ago, was applied at Falmouth Docks.

The combination of blue-grey and green-grey on a background of white and light grey is known as the Western Approaches paint scheme and was first used on the Second World War destroyer HMS Broke to hide from German U-boats.

HMS Severn is the first vessel to receive the design since then. Although modern day radar makes the use of maritime camouflage largely irrelevant, it is meant as a tribute to the Battle of Atlantic sailors. The ship has been fully operational since July last year and is used for navigation training and to protect the UK fishing industry.

Saturday's service was attended by friends, families, affiliates and senior naval officers.

Her captain, Commander Philip Harper, said: “Bringing Severn back from the dead has been an amazing experience. Commissioning her alongside Belfast, with both ships in World War II camouflage, was the culmination of 18 months of hard work and dedication.”

HMS Severn is 80 metres long, displaces nearly 2,000 tonnes of water and has a top speed of 20 knots and a range of 5,500 nautical miles. She has a 45-strong crew.

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