Foreign

The UK’s New £3bn Aircraft Carrier Has Docked In Its Home Port

Published

7 years ago

August 16, 2017

HMS Queen Elizabeth entered Portsmouth Harbour for the first time at about 07:10 BST following extensive preparations at the naval base.

The 65,000-tonne ship has been undergoing sea trials since setting sail from Rosyth dockyard in Fife, where it was built, in June.

The 900ft (280m) long carrier cannot currently deploy planes but flying trials are due to begin next year.

Addressing crew members and contractors on the flight deck, Prime Minister Theresa May said the carrier was a “true testament to British ship building and design”.

“Britain truly has the best sailors, marines and officers in the world. And I believe you deserve the very best equipment and that it what we have with HMS Queen Elizabeth,” she said.

“This ship is the symbol of the United Kingdom as a great global maritime nation. Clearly she is a stunning piece of 21st Century engineering.”

Spectators gathered on the shoreline to watch the ship’s arrival and a no-fly zone has been put in place to prevent the flying of drones around the harbour.

Road closures are in place in Old Portsmouth, Southsea seafront and parts of the city centre.

Isle of Wight, Gosport and cross-channel ferry services also have altered timetables.

Preparations for the arrival of the future flagship of the fleet, and its 700 crew, saw more than 20,000 items ranging from a human skull to sea mines dredged up from Portsmouth Harbour.

The Ministry of Defence said specialist dredging vessels had removed 3.2 million cubic metres of sediment – the equivalent to 1,280 Olympic swimming pools – during the dredging operation carried out to deepen the harbour mouth to enable the Queen Elizabeth to reach Portsmouth naval base.