Minor repair is made to supercarrier HMS Queen Elizabeth

HMS Queen Elizabeth suffered the issue while on her sea trials in the North Sea.

The aircraft carrier’s prop shaft – specifically the part of the frame holding the prop in place – is reported to be 12mm out of alignment, UK Defence Journal reported. It comes after reports that a small piece of debris was caught inside one of the propeller shafts.

Queen Elizabeth visited Invergordon for a planned stop to re-fuel and resupply the ship.

While there, engineers took the time to repair the misalignment, a spokeswoman from the Aircraft Carrier Alliance today confirmed.

The spokeswoman said: ‘HMS Queen Elizabeth is making progress through her sea trials programme, which is designed to test the full spectrum of her vast and complex systems. We fully anticipate this will identify areas for improvement that will be addressed at sea, during a number of routine port stops or as part of the planned engineering period.’

The 65,000-tonne vessel set off on her maiden sea trial from Rosyth last month.

Sea trials are designed to put the ship through her paces, testing everything from speed, manoeuvrability, propulsion, power, and weapons systems.

After an initial period of testing, Queen Elizabeth is expected to return to Rosyth for maintenance work before heading out to complete her second phase of trials.

The mighty carrier will then make her first entry into her home port of Portsmouth later this year. No exact date has been confirmed by the navy or Aircraft Carrier Alliance.