HMS Prince of Wales: Scotland shipbuilders knew about Royal Navy carrier propeller shaft misalignment faults

A fault with the propellor shafts on HMS Prince of Wales were discovered during sea trials in 2019, according to the Mail on Sunday. Issues were reportedly uncovered while the £3bn warship was being built in Rosyth, Scotland.

A steel coupling on the starboard propellor shaft fractured during the ship’s send off from Portsmouth in August – with the Nato flagship on its way to undertake training exercises with the US Navy, the Royal Canadian Navy and United States Marine Corps.

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The vessel broke down off the coast of the Isle of Wight. She remained on the south coast until October before being brought to Scotland.

In January, the Royal Navy confirmed the technical problems will keep the 65,000-tonne warship out of action until the Spring, while the issues are fixed. Engineers reportedly found ‘elementary misalignment’ mistakes on both the starboard and portside shafts.

Sources told the Mail on Sunday that the problem was discovered while HMS Prince of Wales was being built in Rosyth, Fife. It was decided the levels were within levels of ‘tolerance’.

Royal Navy sources said at the time when the sea trials were undertaken that the shafts were within tolerance and ‘no issues were identified’. A report into the faults with HMS Prince of Wales is due to be reported back to defence secretary Ben Wallace soon.

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The bearings can be worn out due to misalignment, as it can cause the shaft to vibrate. Couplings on the shaft can break in extreme cases.

Vice Admiral Paul Marshall told a defence select committee meeting last month both the portside and starboard shafts are being repaired at the same time. He added HMS Prince of Wales will return to Portsmouth for a pre-planned maintenance period once the repairs are made.

As previously reported in The News, VA Marshall said a full investigation is being carried out to figure out the root cause of the failure, with no further information being disclosed until ministers and the Ministry of Defence (MoD) are briefed. The committee asked to see the full report when it is released.