The ship is due to be the Portugeuse hospitality house at Rio 2016 ©COP

A ship which is due to become the Portuguese Hospitality House at the Rio 2016 Olympic Games has become the first boat in the country's navy to be honoured by a foreign country as it continues its journey across the Atlantic.

The ship, Sagres, visited the Portuguese-speaking African island chain of Cape Verde to make its first stop on its voyage westwards.

A ceremony was held attended by Cape Verde’s Minister of Defence Luis Filipe Tavares and officials led by Olympic Committee of Portugal (COP) President José Manuel Constantino and vice-presidential counterpart, Rosa Mota.

They praised the ship as a national symbol of Portugal and for being "a true floating embassy of peace, fraternity and tolerance”, as well as a supporter of the Portuguese language, history and culture.

It is due to reach Brazil between July 19 and 22, where it will stop in Recife, before visiting Salvador de Bahia from July 26 to 28.

It is forecast to reach Rio de Janeiro two days before the Olympic Opening Ceremony on August 3.

Around 10,000 people per day will visit the ship during the Games, it is hoped.

The ship is due to make three stops before arriving in time for Rio 2016 ©COP
The ship is due to make three stops before arriving in time for Rio 2016 ©COP

Offical receptions will take place there, offering a wide variety of Portuguese dishes and also Portugal’s best national wines, including the famed Caldo Verde, Bacalhau à Brás and Pastel de Nata.

The ship is then set to dock in Cape Verde again on its return journey before arriving in Lisbon on September 25 to end a 97-day trip.

This will boost the profile of the Portugal team in Rio, with the Brazilian Games marking the first time an Olympics has taken place in a Portuguese-speaking country.

Around 90 athletes are set to represent the European nation.

They will be hoping to improve upon the one silver medal won by canoeists Fernando Pimenta and Emanuel Silva at London 2012.