The third of the Royal Navy’s five new offshore patrol vessels was formally named HMS Trent at the Glasgow shipyard where she was built.

The 90m warship has now made the short journey across the Clyde from Govan to Scotstoun, where she is being fitted out for sea trials.

Pamela Potts, the ship’s sponsor and wife of Vice Admiral Duncan Potts (director general of the UK’s Defence Academy), named the ship and pressed a button to smash a bottle of gin (distilled close to the River Trent) against the hull.

HMS Trent will perform vital counter-terrorism, anti-smuggling and other maritime security operations to secure the UK’s borders, along with her sister ships HMS Forth, Medway, Tamar and Spey.

Guto Bebb, the minister for defence procurement, said: “As the third of five offshore patrol vessels being built in Scotland, HMS Trent will soon be part of a fleet of highly capable ships.

“UK Defence has invested in an unprecedented ship-building production line in Glasgow, and the city’s shipyards — with their 1,700 highly skilled engineers and technicians — have full order books for the next two decades.”

HMS Trent will have a medium-calibre gun and a flight deck capable of accommodating a Merlin helicopter.

After a period of rigorous sea trials, the vessel should be delivered to the Royal Navy in the second half of 2018.