After breaking down yesterday near the south coast of England owing to “damage to its propeller shaft,” the largest warship in the United Kingdom has been relocated to a better place for examination. The ship had just set sail for a significant mission to the United States.
The second of the Royal Navy’s two aircraft carriers, the five-year-old HMS Prince of Wales, had a “developing technical problem” yesterday near the Isle of Wight, according to a Royal Navy spokeswoman.
It is unknown whether the two events are connected, but the £3 billion carrier had to postpone its departure from Portsmouth Naval Base, Hampshire, on Friday by a day due to a mechanical problem.
According to reports, the 65,000-ton battleship was allegedly moored to the south-east of the Isle of Wight while the issue was being investigated.
According to Sky News, it now looks to have travelled a few miles north and then west near Stokes Bay, Gosport, according to MarineTraffic.com.
The protected region at Stokes Bay provides a more convenient location for divers to check any damage, therefore it is assumed that the carrier is being transported to a location where it can be more readily examined.
You may be aware of concerns with @HMSPWLS since she left her home port of Portsmouth on Saturday, according to a tweet from the Royal Navy.
We are now relocating her to a new location so that we may conduct a more thorough investigation of the ship.
‘Right now our emphasis is on the ship and our crew; everyone is working hard to identify the situation and what can be done next,’ stated another tweet from its account.
In light of continuing “investigations into an emergent technical problem,” a Royal Navy official informed Sky News yesterday that the HMS Prince of Wales was still moored in the South Coast Exercise Area.
The online news source The UK Defence Journal said that the issue was directly connected to damage to the starboard propeller shaft when it initially reported on the issue.
It stated: “A source informed me that divers were dispatched down to investigate when problems aboard were discovered, and upon their return, the divers expressed worry about the starboard propellor shaft.”
“The shaft itself seems to be damaged, I was informed, but I don’t feel it’s acceptable to comment on the degree of any possible damage at this time, since the details of any damage cannot be verified,” the source said.
According to Navy Lookout, a different specialised news outlet, the carrier had a “major technical failure.”
The unsubstantiated reports of “damage to the starboard propeller shaft” and “divers had been examining the ship below the waterline” were again referenced.
The Royal Navy said that the voyage, if it proceeds, would “define the future of stealth jet and drone operations off the coast of North America and in the Caribbean.”
The NATO flagship will participate in training drills with the US Navy, Royal Canadian Navy, and US Marine Corps. The programme is anticipated to feature F-35B Lightning jet exercise.
Thousands of music enthusiasts at the Victorious music festival on Southsea Common in Portsmouth on Saturday gave the battleship a colourful send-off as it sailed by them.
Although a Royal Navy official refused to comment on the cause for the delay, it left a day later than expected. The departure of HMS Prince of Wales has been postponed, they said. She won’t be affected by this for her future plans.
However, according to reports, the ship was at anchor yesterday. The UK Defence Journal was told by the Ministry of Defence: ‘Having sailed from Portsmouth, HMS PRINCE OF WALES remains in the South Coast Exercise Area.’
Although the operation is still scheduled to go place, according to a Royal Navy spokeswoman who told Navy Lookout yesterday: “We anticipate her to continue her WESTLANT 22 deployment as planned in the coming days,”
Before the mechanical problem, Commanding Officer Captain Richard Hewitt issued the following statement to mark the warship’s departure: “Taking the HMS Prince of Wales task group across the Atlantic for the rest of this year will not only push the limits of UK carrier operations, but will reinforce our close working relationship with our closest ally.
None of this would be possible without the efforts of the incredible sailors on board, many of whom are serving their first deployment with the Royal Navy.
They operate the F35 Lightnings and drones, and they host the Atlantic Future Forum, among other things.
For a response, MailOnline contacted the Ministry of Defense.
The statistics behind the Navy’s newest aircraft carrier, HMS Prince of Wales
£3.3 billion was spent. Numerous issues and fixes raised the price from the initial £3 billion.
65,000 lbs.
1,600 people when fully operational.
Dimensions: The four-acre decks are nearly the size of three football fields, measuring more than 900 feet long and 230 feet broad.
Maximum speed is 28 mph. capable of 500 miles of daily travel.
36 F35-B Lightning II fighter planes can fit within. In about 60 seconds, the jets can be raised from the hangar below deck to the deck.
Weapons: 3,000 round per minute shooting weapon system.
Long-range radars are able to follow 1,000 airborne objects from a distance of up to 250 nautical miles.
A target the size of a ball may be tracked by Type 997 Artisan 3D medium range radars from a distance of 12 miles away.