HMS Queen Elizabeth: Leak discovered on new £3.1bn aircraft carrier

Issue identified during sea trials

HMS Queen Elizabeth is leaking as a result of an issue with a shaft seal (Steve Parsons/PA Wire )

Britain's new £3.1bn aircraft carrier, HMS Queen Elizabeth, is leaking and needs repairs.

The 65,000-tonne ship, hailed as Britain's most advanced warship and which was only commissioned into the Royal Navy fleet by The Queen earlier this month, has an issue with the shaft seal which was identified during sea trials, the Royal Navy told The Independent in a statement.

A spokesperson said: "This is scheduled for repair while she is alongside at Portsmouth. It does not prevent her from sailing again and her sea trials programme will not be affected."

According to The Sun, the 280-metre ship was letting in 200 litres of water each hour and the fix would cost millions of pounds.

A defence source said the navy was aware the ship, which took eight years to build, had an issue when it was handed over by manufacturers and The Sun said the builders would have to foot the repair bill.

The paper said an investigation was being conducted to see whether the Queen Elizabeth's sister ship, HMS Prince of Wales, has the same problem.

A number of ship-building yards around the country were involved in building the Queen Elizabeth, including Govan and Scotstoun in Glasgow, Appledore in Devon, Cammell Laird in Liverpool, A&P on the Tyne in Newcastle and Portsmouth.

Around 10,000 people worked on construction of the ship, made up in sections at yards around the UK and transported to Rosyth, Fife, where it was assembled.

BAE systems, which played a key role in the construction, said it could be taken to sea with the current issue.

It said the problem would be rectified in the new year, a process expected to take a few days.

The company said: "It is normal practice for a volume of work and defect resolution to continue following vessel acceptance.

"This will be completed prior to the nation's flagship re-commencing her programme at sea in 2018."

"This is why we have sea trials for prototype ships," Defence Minister Tobias Ellwood tweeted in response to the news.

"Every ship takes on water. That's why you have pumps," Chris Parry, former senior Royal Navy officer told Sky News.

"When you get a brand new car not everything's perfect, you have to send it back to the garage to get a few things tweaked. This is exactly in that bracket.