British Navy comments on failure of its biggest warship

The HMS Prince of Wales broke down a day after leaving its home port

The stricken British aircraft carrier HMS Prince of Wales is being moved to a port “better suited to allow for further inspection of the ship,” the Royal Navy tweeted on Monday, acknowledging that followers “might be aware” that the £3 billion ($3.5 billion) warship had been experiencing some “issues” since leaving its home port of Portsmouth on Sunday.

“Everyone is working hard to understand the problem and what can be done next,” the Navy promised in another tweet, explaining that “right now our focus is on the ship and our people.” 

READ MORE: $3.5bn UK aircraft carrier breaks down again

The Navy’s largest ship set out on Sunday for what had been described as “a landmark mission to shape the future of stealth jet and drone operations” set to last four months before breaking down not far from the South Coast. Defense industry sources suggested the problem was with the ship’s propeller shaft. 

The HMS Prince of Wales only became fully operational last year, requiring £3.3 million in repairs after an incident in 2020 when water in the engine room damaged its electronics. During its two-year life, it has spent just 87 days at sea.