HMS Albion in Souda

(ANA-MPA) -- The British Royal Navy flagship HMS Albion sailed into the Souda Bay anchorage (Crete) on Wednesday for a five-day courtesy call.

HMS Albion is an amphibious assault ship and platform dock for helicopters. The warship is capable of carrying more than 600 crewmembers and marines; it hosts four amphibious craft and ready-to-deploy armoured military vehicles.

The warship was designated as a fleet flagship in Dec. 2010. It set sail from Plymouth in early April to participate in a British ministry of defence exercise operation in the Mediterranean.