HMS Prince Of Wales' Portsmouth Departure Postponed

HMS Prince of Wales' planned departure from Portsmouth this evening has been postponed.

She had been due to set sail from the city in order to continue her training.

HMNB Portsmouth's official Twitter account posted an update, which read: "HMS Prince of Wales will not sail this evening."

The Queen Elizabeth-class vessel returned to the south coast last month after conducting sea and aviation trials with the RAF and Commando Helicopter Force.

Chinooks from 7 Squadron have been helping to train the carrier's air department alongside commando-carrying Merlins of 846 Naval Air Squadron from RNAS Yeovilton.

She is working towards becoming fully operational and preparing her ship's company.

Earlier this evening, HMS Prince of Wales posted a tweet about National Fish and Chip Day.

In late 2020, HMS Prince of Wales underwent repairs after a flood in an engine room, later revealed to have cost more than £3 million. 

The next stage of training for the carrier is set to include working with Apache helicopters from 4 Regiment Army Air Corps.

Last month, Prince of Wales met up with sister-carrier HMS Queen Elizabeth at sea for the first time.

Cover image: HMS Prince of Wales in Portsmouth harbour in April (Picture: Alamy).