The carrier was due to cross the Atlantic, and the crew was scheduled to train with F-35B jets and uncrewed systems.The fleet was forced to anchor off the south coast of England only hours after she received a grand send-off on a “landmark mission.”
The Royal Navy issued a further update on its social media on Monday, saying, “You might be aware of issues with HMS Prince of Wales since leaving her home port of Portsmouth on Saturday. We are moving her to a different anchorage that is better suited to allow for further inspection of the ship. Our focus is now on the ship and our people; everyone is working hard to understand the problem and what can be done next.”
The carrier was commissioned in December 2019. She had a history of problems, getting stranded in Portsmouth at the end of 2020 after flooding in its engine room damaged the electrics. In October 2020, She was sent back to the shipyard for major repairs. During its first two years in service, it is reported that she spent only 20 days at sea in all of 2020, but by October 2021, the Royal Navy declared that she was fully operational and would be fully ready for frontline deployment by 2023.
British Navy is familiar with such failures. Type-45 destroyers (D or Daring class) guided missile destroyers for Anti-Air Warfare (AAW) that the Navy calls “symbol of Britain’s eminent place on the world stage” require constant upgrades and overhauls as they cannot solve its propulsion problems. There are detailed reports about the vessels for their energy re-generating issues, which have remained unsolved for years. The Navy says they know the problem but need time and money to solve it.
