Royal Navy aircraft carrier HMS Prince of Wales' departure updated as repairs continue

The £3bn warship broke down off the Isle of Wight in August after sailing from Portsmouth Naval Base to take part in flight trials and diplomatic visits in the US.

The 65,000-tonne ship was brought back to Portsmouth for further examination by engineers from Babcock before the decision was taken for her to travel to Rosyth, where she was built, to undergo the repairs in dry dock.

Inspections by divers and engineers found that the 33-ton starboard propeller had malfunctioned, with a coupling holding it in place breaking.

The massive warship was due to leave on Monday – but divers were unable to complete prep works in time.

Now the King’s Harbour Master lists HMS Prince of Wales to leave the harbour this morning at 10.50am.

She is set to leave alongside an accompaniment of at least six tugboats.

Rear Admiral Steve Moorhouse previously explained the fault.

He said: ‘Royal Navy divers have inspected the starboard shaft of the ship and the adjacent areas and they confirmed there is significant damage to the shaft on the propeller and some superficial damage to the rudder but no damage to the rest of the ship.

‘Our initial assessment has shown that coupling that joins the final two sections of the shaft has failed. Now, this is an extremely unusual fault and we continue to pursue all repair options.’