HMS Prince of Wales at Portsmouth Naval Docks. Credit: Rab Lawrence/Flickr(Creative Commons).

The UK Royal Navy (RN) has reportedly confirmed that repair works on its second Queen Elizabeth Class (QEC) aircraft carrier HMS Prince of Wales will conclude this spring.

According to a report by BBC, the aircraft carrier is currently undergoing repairs in a dry dock in Rosyth, Scotland.

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An undisclosed RN spokesperson told BBC: “Repairs to HMS Prince of Wales’ starboard shaft are expected to be completed by spring 2023. The ship will then return to Portsmouth for a pre-planned maintenance period.”

Last year in August, the right-side starboard propeller shaft of the QEC aircraft carrier suffered a mechanical defect, while the vessel was heading to the US from its home port, Portsmouth Naval Base.

Following this incident, the RN divers and personnel carried out inspections to understand the condition of shaft, which later revealed that the vessel required to enter dry dock in Rosyth to undergo repairs.

The carrier’s engineers and divers said that the extent of time required, and the amount of repair works needed cannot be known completely and precisely until HMS Prince of Wales enters dry dock. 

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Before departing to Rosyth, the defective 33t starboard propeller was also removed from the 65,000t vessel.

According to the RN, the incident further resulted in rescheduling the 2022 autumn deployment of HMS Prince of Wales to 2023.

It involved the warship to operate with F-35B fighter jets, uncrewed aerial vehicles and MV-22 Osprey aircraft in the Eastern Seaboard of the US.

While being repaired, a crew of around 750 personnel will remain deployed with the ship in Rosyth and continue their training to undertake future deployments and missions, while also supporting the maintenance work.