HMS Prince of Wales will be out of action until spring, Royal Navy confirms

In August, HMS Prince of Wales broke down off the coast of the Isle of Wight on her way out of Portsmouth, and the navy later confirmed that the starboard propeller had malfunctioned – with the coupling that held it in place breaking. The £3bn vessel was meant to take part in flight trials and diplomatic visits in the US, but was instead towed back into Portsmouth Harbour.

She remained in place until October, when she was eventually taken to Rosyth in Scotland for repairs. It was expected that she would be out of action for an extended period, and now the Royal Navy has conceded that the warship won’t be returning to Portsmouth anytime soon.

A spokesman for the navy said: ‘Repairs to HMS Prince of Wales starboard shaft are expected to be completed by spring 2023. The ship will then return to Portsmouth for a pre-planned maintenance period.’

According to the navy, the ‘rare’ issue is not class-related, meaning that HMS Queen Elizabeth – considered the Royal Navy’s flagship – is unlikely to be affected by a similar fault. Once the repairs are completed, it’s expected that HMS Prince of Wales will be put back into operational service as soon as possible.

Many of the ship's company were on leave over the Christmas period, and while the majority will likely stay attached to the warship there will inevitably be other responsibilities to keep them busy until HMS Prince of Wales is ready to sail once again.

With the warship out of action, sister ship HMS Queen Elizabeth has stepped in as a substitute for all duties in the foreseeable future.

The 65,000-tonne carrier, which travels at a speed of 25 knots, changed its plans over the autumn to travel to the US to take over some of the planned engagements. This included hosting the Atlantic Future Forum defence conference in New York.

HMS Queen Elizabeth returned to Portsmouth Naval Base in October, before heading back out to sea with the UK Carrier Strike Group.