Royal Navy: HMS Queen Elizabeth set to leave Rosyth soon after mechanical fault, reports say - when

The UK Defence Journal reports that HMS Queen Elizabeth is due to leave the Rosyth dry dock in Fife, Scotland, between July 19 and 24. This will be dependent on the weather and tidal windows. The 65,000 tonne aircraft carrier left Portsmouth on March 5 after a malfunction was discovered during pre-sailing checks in February.

The Royal Navy have yet to confirm when the £3bn warship will depart from Scotland, and have declined to comment on previous enquiries for operational security reasons. As previously reported in The News, HMS Queen Elizabeth was expected to have her repair period in Scotland extended to make sure any damage was fully fixed, with the UK Defence Journal speculating that she could leave in the Autumn.

She was due to take charge of a UK Carrier Strike Group on Exercise Steadfast Defender - Nato’s largest operation since The Cold War - earlier this year. HMS Prince of Wales, her sister ship, replaced her after a faulty coupling was found on the aircraft carrier’s starboard propeller on February 4.

The Royal Navy previously said the fault was caused by “wear and tear”, with the Earl of Minto adding that repairs would be carried out and an investigation into the malfunction would be carried out.

UK Defence Journal said each of the ship’s propeller shaft couplings - three for each propeller - has plastic coverings on them to keep water away. It was found that a cover on the starboard shaft had moved, which allowed seawater to ingress and cause corrosion. The corrosion was enough of a concern for the aircraft carrier to be withdrawn from operations.

It was reported that a decision was made to replace both propeller shafts, in a similar way to HMS Prince of Wales following her breakdown in 2022.