Royal Navy: HMS Prince of Wales to return to Portsmouth after gearing up for Indo-Pacific deployment - when

HMS Prince of Wales is scheduled to sail into HMNB Portsmouth this afternoon. According to the King’s Harbour Master (KHM) Shipping Movements, the 65,000 tonne carrier is due to sail past The Round Tower in Old Portsmouth at around 1.35pm.

Alongside a Pilot and Tug escort, she can be seen by The Nab Tower earlier in the day at 12.45pm. The £3.2bn warship was seen in Glen Mallen, Scotland, earlier this month while taking on ammunition for her next major deployment. The Royal Navy flagship is set to depart for the Indo-Pacific this Spring - taking charge of the UK Carrier Strike Group (UKCSG).

She will visit Japan, Australia and other nations to conduct military drills and host diplomatic functions. Part of this will be Exercise Talisman Sabre, where the Royal Navy will take part in training regimes and manoeuvres alongside 19 other nations.

It takes place every two years, with the aim of testing joint capabilities across several domains and strengthen partnerships and interoperability between countries. HMS Prince of Wales will be joined on the deployment by other Royal Navy vessels, warships from allied nations such as Norway, and a suite of aircraft including Wildcat helicopters and F-35B fighter jets.

Speaking about the deployment, Mr Healey said the UK is determined to build on its commitments to the Indo-Pacific region, and strengthen relationships with other nations. Labour peer in the House of Lords, Lord Vernon Coaker, took this further and said the carrier’s deployment will “assert the rule of law” over China, with the diplomatic situation in the Indo-Pacific being felt in Europe.

He previously said: “We’ve looked at the implications for our own defence and that of our allies with respect to the development in China. Across the world, the power of ourselves and that of our international allies including the United States will be reflected with the Carrier Strike Group that will not only go into the Mediterranean but also the Indo-Pacific. That will be about asserting the rule of law.”