HMS Queen Elizabeth to anchor off Gosport as coronavirus rumours continue for Royal Navy

The HMS Queen Elizabeth left Portsmouth on Wednesday, April 29, to conduct further sea trials ahead of her first operational mission in 2021.

This Thursday, the carrier will return to the area – but won’t enter Portsmouth Harbour, instead anchoring off of Stokes Bay in Gosport.

It comes after reports that two crew members tested positive for coronavirus before the ship left the city last week.

As the carrier returns, the Royal Navy is remaining tight-lipped about the coronavirus situation on board.

A Royal Navy spokesman said: ‘We can confirm HMS Queen Elizabeth is due to be anchored off Gosport for a planned stop while the ship prepares for operational sea training.'

When asked about coronavirus, the navy declined to comment.

But the ship’s Twitter account posted: ‘After a successful return to sea we will soon go to to apply some finishing touches before the most demanding period in our history.

‘Two years of work will cumulate over the following weeks as we show our assessors… how we operate, maintain and fight.’

Maritime expert Mike Critchley, from Gosport, says the answer to the mystery lies in the activity around the ship once she arrives in Stokes Bay.

He said: ‘It’s certainly not unusual for ships to anchor in Stokes Bay – it’s easier to do that than go into Portsmouth Harbour.

‘But I thought they would be over in Plymouth or something by now, so it does strike me as odd. It suggests to me that there could well be something going on.

‘The key will be whether we see smaller vessels going to and from the ship; she clearly doesn't need food or fuel, otherwise she'd be in the harbour, so the only thing they’d be taking on or off is personnel.’

The £3.1bn warship was originally held back from leaving Portsmouth Harbour while the ship’s 700-strong crew were all tested for coronavirus.

According to the navy, the ship’s captain has the discretion to cease training ‘if deemed necessary’.

Her departure last week was not announced publicly, to avoid crowds gathering to see the 65,000-tonne warship off.

Training is set to include facing simulated battle damage, fires and floods, as well as warfare training and mission rehearsals.

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