HMS Albion will be able to carry up to 60 vehicles

The 176-metre long vessel, one of the most sophisticated warships of its type, is due to arrive at Devonport Naval Base.

It is uncertain whether the 18,500-tonne vessel, which can carry 700 Royal Marine Commandos, could be called upon for service in the war on Iraq.

"We have all the resources we need in the Gulf at the moment," said a Royal Navy spokesman

"Once in service from July, she will be available as a military asset for whatever duties she is called upon to perform."

Sister ship

Plymouth and South West-based ships and Royal Navy and 3 Commando Brigade personnel are currently in operations in and around Iraq.

HMS Albion, which was built in four years in Barrow-in-Furness by BAE Systems, will be handed over to the Navy on Friday and enter service from mid-July following trials.

Her sister ship, HMS Bulwark, is still under construction at Barrow - for delivery late next year - as part of a �500 million programme, said the Navy spokesman.

HMS Albion is 50% larger than the assault ships which have been replaced and recently left service, HMS Fearless and Intrepid.

She will be able to carry up to 60 vehicles, ranging from trucks to battle tanks, and eight new landing craft.

She will be based in Plymouth along with the Navy's other frontline amphibious warfare vessels, including the helicopter carrier HMS Ocean, and, when she enters service, HMS Bulwark.