Navy’s pride and joy to weigh anchor early as gales threaten
HEAVY WINDS forecast for the weekend have forced the Royal Navy to bring forward the departure of its flagship HMS Queen Elizabeth for her first operational deployment to the Far East.
The £3bn aircraft carrier made an unscheduled stop at her home base in Portsmouth on Wednesday after taking part in a major exercise off the coast of Scotland.
The 65,000-tonne warship had intended to carry out final preparations for the deployment while in the Solent, along with the other ships of the Carrier Strike Group.
But poor weather, including 50mph winds expected today, forced the Navy to change its plans and bring the carrier into port.
She had been due to leave again on Sunday morning but further bad weather means the vessel is now expected to depart tomorrow night. It will be the first time the carrier has left the port at night, although she has sailed into Portsmouth in the early hours previously.
The carrier strike group, which will visit India, Japan, South Korea and Singapore, will include the US destroyer The Sullivans and the Dutch frigate Evertsen.