STAVANGER — HMS Prince of Wales is docked in Stavanger due to a minor technical issue, according to the U.K. Ministry of Defence. The Ministry anticipates the aircraft carrier will depart in the coming days.
The vessel departed from Loch Long, Scotland, for Nordic waters earlier in the month. Type 45 destroyer HMS Duncan and tanker RFA Tidespring accompanied the carrier during this deployment. The ship conducted operations with Nato and the Joint Expeditionary Force.
A government spokesperson said: "HMS Prince of Wales is currently conducting a port visit to Stavanger as part of the Carrier Strike Group's deployment across the North Atlantic and Arctic, we expect her to set sail in the coming days." The vessel is one of two flagship aircraft carriers in the Royal Navy fleet. It has a capacity for up to 72 aircraft and 1,600 personnel.
Royal Navy personnel prepared the ship in March for potential rapid deployment to the Middle East. A Ministry of Defence spokesperson stated in March that the vessel could undertake other planned missions. The carrier is generally based in Portsmouth.
The construction of the carrier cost £6.4bn. Maintenance and repair costs for both aircraft carriers in the fleet exceed £1bn. In August 2022, the ship experienced a propulsion failure due to a misaligned shaft while sailing to the U.S. In 2024, HMS Queen Elizabeth withdrew from a Nato exercise off the Norwegian coast because of a coupling problem on its starboard propeller shaft.
No independent assessment was available for this report.