Delayed carrier leaves Portsmouth for Nato exercises

Hundreds of people have lined the entrance to Portsmouth Harbour to watch the departure of a Royal Navy aircraft carrier for a major Nato exercise off Norway.

The departure of HMS Prince of Wales on Sunday was postponed at the last minute as it was about to set sail to replace its sister ship, HMS Queen Elizabeth.

HMS Queen Elizabeth was forced to cancel its own deployment a week ago.

The £3 billion warship had been expected to take part in the largest Nato exercise since the Cold War but final checks detected an "issue" with the starboard propeller coupling.

Since the cancellation was announced, the crew and base workers have been preparing HMS Prince of Wales to take over HMS Queen Elizabeth's role in Exercise Steadfast Defender.

Defence Secretary Grant Shapps said: "I would like to congratulate the crew of HMS Prince of Wales for their hard work and dedication in rapidly preparing the ship for departure.

"The ability to deploy hundreds of crew to make ready one of the world’s most complex aircraft carriers within a week is testament to the skill and ability of the Royal Navy.

"In an increasingly dangerous world, where it is more important than ever that we stand united with our allies, HMS Prince of Wales will send a powerful message of collective security and deterrence at the head of this multinational strike group."

The aircraft carrier’s logistics officer, Lieutenant Commander Chris Barnett, said: "In less than a week we have brought onboard approximately £400,000 of food, with 450 pallets of stores and 30,000 toilet rolls.

"Not to mention spare parts for F-35 Lightnings, Merlin and Wildcat helicopters, cold weather kit, and medical stores. It has been an amazing effort from all involved."

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