The Royal Navy's HMS Defender destroyer sailed into Split's waters on Sunday for a visit to the Croatian Navy and the city, the Croatian Defence Ministry said.

The destroyer will stay in the city port until 3 November as part of bilateral cooperation with the Royal Navy.

Besides receptions in the City Administration and the Croatian Navy Command, the programme of the visit includes the Royal Marines’ visit to a company of Croatian marines in the southernmost port of Ploče, joint training, and sports events.

The HMS Defender is a Daring-class destroyer, 152.4 m long, 21.2 m wide, has 7.4 m draught and 8,000 t displacement. It has been in the service of the Royal Navy since 2013 and is based in Portmouth.

The crew consists of 234 members led by Commander George Storton.