Royal Navy aircraft carrier HMS Prince of Wales to carry out investigation after flooding onboard

A video posted on Facebook page Jackspeak shows water up to ankle height in a room on the HMS Prince of Wales with streams of water gushing between the tiles in the ceiling.

The Royal Navy has confirmed the footage and that an investigation into what caused the flooding on Friday is now under way.

The water has been cleared and made no lasting damage to the £3.1bn warship, which is alongside at Portsmouth Naval Base.

A Royal Navy spokesman said: ‘Following a minor issue with an internal system on HMS Prince of Wales the ship’s company were required to remove a small volume of water from the ship.

‘An investigation into the cause is now under way, but this will not affect the ship’s programme.’

Last month homeowners in Gosport complained of sleepless nights due to the ‘incessant’ whirring drone of the HMS Prince of Wales’s diesel generators.

Ordinarily the vessel would be hooked up to a land-based power supply 24/7, however, the navy is carrying out trials with a new power plant which means the ship occasionally relies on her own generators to keep the lights on.

Yesterday sister ship, HMS Queen Elizabeth left Stokes Bay without the usual well-wishes from residents, with those gathering to watch its departure practising social distancing along the shoreline in Gosport.

The £3.1bn ship will sail along the south coast to undertake simulated battle training, as well as preparations in the event of a flood or fire onboard.

HMS Queen Elizabeth and its 700 crew members had been anchored in the Solent since Thursday, May 7.

A message from the Editor

Thank you for reading this story on portsmouth.co.uk. While I have your attention, I also have an important request to make of you.

With the coronavirus lockdown having a major impact on many of our advertisers - and consequently the revenue we receive - we are more reliant than ever on you taking out a digital subscription.

Subscribe to portsmouth.co.uk and enjoy unlimited access to local news and information online and on our app. With a digital subscription, you can read more than 5 articles, see fewer ads, enjoy faster load times, and get access to exclusive newsletters and content. Visit our Subscription page now to sign up.

Our journalism costs money and we rely on advertising, print and digital revenues to help to support them. By supporting us, we are able to support you in providing trusted, fact-checked content for this website.