Royal Navy: "Great" evolving Portsmouth Naval Base upgrades hailed by HMS Prince of Wales Commanding Officer

Captain Will Blackett, Commanding Officer of HMS Prince of Wales, hailed the investment being made at Portsmouth Naval Base. News of the infrastructure project was announced by Chancellor Rachel Reeves during her Spring Statement in the House of Commons - where an extra £2.2bn was assigned to defence.

Speaking aboard HMS Prince of Wales’ flight deck, the Portsmouth-born commander outlined the need to improve Royal Navy sites to keep operations running smoothly. He told The News: “We constantly evolve. Look at HMS Victory, she worked from this naval base. We don’t need the same facilities as HMS Victory anymore but we do need some of them.

“Portsmouth doesn’t operate nuclear submarines, but the most complex things the Royal Navy operates are nuclear submarines, but we operate them out of 17th century naval bases that were built hundreds of years ago. It’s still the same here.”

HMS Prince of Wales is due to leave Portsmouth today (April 22) to take charge of the UK Carrier Strike Group (UKCSG). The enormous formation will operate in the Indo-Pacific region for eight months, carrying out military drills and diplomatic visits in Japan, Australia and elsewhere. Commodore James Blackmore, the UKCSG Commander, this was the biggest deployment this century in terms of capability.

CO Blackett, who was a pupil at Portsmouth Grammar School, said there has to be the right infrastructure in place to suit the aircraft carriers and other capabilities. Referring to HMS Prince of Wales, he added: “This is a highly complex machine which has the same amount of power as Coventry. We generate enough power to probably back-power Portsmouth.

“These sorts of machines and the amount of power involved require a lot of support. When we turn the ship off in order to do maintenance, that load is transferred into the city. There are basic things like power, propulsion and generation that need to go into the jetty. As we evolve the navy and keep it modern and ready to go, it’s not just about the ships, it’s about the entire support infrastructure around it.”

Minister for defence procurement, Maria Eagle, outlined the details of the investment in a parliamentary written question. She said: “The funding for the regeneration of His Majesty’s Naval Base Portsmouth will be allocated towards three main areas: refurbishment and upgrade of accommodation, jetty upgrade programme, and wider estate development.

“This allocation aims to provide good quality, safe accommodation, ensure the jetties can better meet the demand of the surface fleet, and create a resilient, efficient, and sustainable Naval Base.”

CO Blackett praised his Royal Navy colleagues and employees in Portsmouth’s defence sector, and said missions such as Operation Highmast would not be possible without them. “We would not be able to do what we’re about to do without the incredible work that’s done by the people of Portsmouth and those who come here to work.

“They need facilities that range from where to eat, sleep, work, train, park their cars etc. All of it matters, and you can’t just upgrade the ships without upgrading the city. What do I think about it? It’s great, the upgrades are great, and it just makes it easier for me to do my job.”