Britain’s £3-bn warship has a leak

London, December 19

Britain’s biggest ever warship, the new 3.1 billion pound ($4.2 billion) aircraft carrier HMS Queen Elizabeth, has a leak and needs repairs, the Ministry of Defence (MoD) said on Tuesday. The 65,000-tonne ship, hailed as Britain’s most advanced military vessel and which was only officially commissioned by the Queen two weeks ago, has an issue with a shaft seal which was identified during sea trials, the MoD said.

“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.” The Sun reported that the 280-m warship was letting in 200 litres of water every hour and the fix would cost millions of pounds.

A defence source said the navy was aware the ship, which took eight years to build, had an issue when it was handed over by manufacturers. The Aircraft Carrier Alliance built the Queen Elizabeth and its sister aircraft carrier, the HMS Prince of Wales, as apart of a 6.2 billion pound project. — Reuters