These stunning pictures show Cardiff Bay as you have never seen it before (and maybe never will again) as British and French warships are the first to arrive
HMS Duncan arriving in Cardiff ahead of the Nato summit
Warships from navies around Europe continue to arrive in Cardiff Bay on Wednesday ahead of the Nato Summit.
French Nave ship La Motte Picquet arrived shortly before lunchtime, greeted by crowds of hundreds. It joins British Navy destroyer HMS Duncan, which arrived on Tuesday.
Schoolchildren, mums and dads, grans and grandparents came to see the second large warship to arrive at Roath Basin as part of a display of Nato naval power ahead of Thursday’s summit.
They are bristling with missiles systems, radars and anti-aircraft weaponry and collectively displaying billions of pounds worth of weaponry.
HMS Duncan alone cost £1bn. It squeezed into Cardiff Bay with very little space on either side between it and the dock.
They are part of an incredible show of force by Nato’s most powerful countries.
For days already, US military helicopters have been seen circling the skies of South Wales ahead of the Nato Summit on Thursday and Friday and the arrival of US President Barack Obama on Wednesday evening.
The French ship was towed into Cardiff Bay’s system of locks at around 11am, taking about two hours to reach Roath Basin.
Crowds lined along the bank as the ship slowly worked its way through the locks – and included husband and wife Ahsan and Mair Irshard, from Aberdare.
“The summit is a great thing,” said Mr Irshard. “You can’t have a summit every year but you should have something in Cardiff all the time that brings it to the forefront.”
Mrs Irshard said he was excited about the arrival of the US President, and said of the inconvenience: “We just have to put up with these things, haven’t we? It’s not something we’re going to have again for a long time.”
La Motte Piquet is one of the most famous names in the French navy having been held by four ships named in honour of the 18th Century admiral Count Toussaint-Guillaume Piquet de la Motte. The current vessel to hold the name is an anti-submarine destroyer .
The Royal Navy’s HMS Biter patrol boat and HMS Express fast patrol boat will also be part of the contingent.
Bill Morris, 79, of Thornhill, Cardiff, said he thought the security operation in the city was necessary: “With the nature of the people coming to the city, you have to have a high regard for them.”
Meanwhile his wife, Maureen Morris, said it was a great atmosphere at the Bay: “People are friendly, its lovely.”
One woman, who came along with her daughter, said: “It’s very exciting. I’ve never seen armed warships like this before.”
During the arrival a protestor, Paul Relph from Cwmbran, attached a banner saying “RIP Nato” to the corner of the security fence near Assembly Square, before he was persuaded by police to take it down.
Mr Relph said: “I’m objecting to the war machines out here. They are glorifying them. The only answer really is that they are killers.”
The M-05 Viesturs ship from Latvia, a minehunter, is currently already docked at the Roath Basin site.
They are set to be joined by Dutch minesweeper HNLMS Urk, a superfast missile patrol boat decked out in camouflage colours called HNoMS Skudd from Norway, and the German-built minesweeper LNS Kursis from Lithuania.
The Royal Navy’s HMS Biter patrol boat and HMS Express fast patrol boat will also be part of the contingent.
The M-05 Viesturs ship from Latvia, a minehunter, is currently already docked at the Roath Basin site.
They are set to be joined by Dutch minesweeper HNLMS Urk, a superfast missile patrol boat decked out in camouflage colours called HNoMS Skudd from Norway, and the German-built minesweeper LNS Kursis from Lithuania.
Cardiff Bay and HMS Duncan is set to be the location for one of the three working dinners taking place in the capital on Thursday evening.
Fences similar to the one erected in Cardiff City Centre have also appeared around Roath Lock, with residents reporting seeing armed and non-armed police in the bay area.