‘Highly embarrassing’
The UK’s new aircraft carrier, HMS Queen Elizabeth, is leaking because of a faulty seal. The £3.1bn aircraft carrier needs repairs, the Ministry of Defence (MoD) added today.
Hailed as Britain’s most advanced military vessel and which was only officially commissioned by the queen two weeks ago, the ship has reportedly developed an issue with one of its propeller shafts, which was reportedly identified during the sea trials.
According to the Sun, the HMS Queen Elizabeth has been taking on up to 200l of sea water every hour because of this fault.
BBC defence correspondent Jonathan Beale has called the problem “highly embarrassing” for the Royal Navy and just one of a number of snags still to be rectified.
“This is scheduled for repair while she is alongside at Portsmouth,” a Royal Navy spokesman said. “It does not prevent her from sailing again and her sea trials programme will not be affected.”
“It’s normal practice for a volume of work and defect resolution to continue following vessel acceptance,” BAE Systems said in a statement. “This will be completed prior to the nation’s flagship re-commencing her programme at sea in 2018.”
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