The UK’s new aircraft carrier, HMS Queen Elizabeth, is leaking because of a faulty seal.
The Royal Navy’s future flagship, which was commissioned by the Queen earlier this month in Portsmouth, has a problem with one of its propeller shafts.
The fault on the £3.1bn carrier was first identified during sea trials.
A Royal Navy spokesman said the ship was scheduled for repair and the fault did not prevent it from sailing again early in the new year.
According to the Sun newspaper, HMS Queen Elizabeth has been taking on up to 200 litres of sea water every hour because of the fault.
The truth is similar leaks in other warships are not unusual and can be fixed relatively easily.
The difference this time though is the scale of HMS Queen Elizabeth and the fact it has just been handed over to the navy.
The big question is whether the leak can be fixed while it is still in the water.
The navy insists the job can be done without her going back to dry dock, which would be costly and add to delays.
Defence Secretary Gavin Williamson said the cost of the repair would be funded by the contractors that built it.
He added: “This is the reason why we have the sea trials, to make sure that everything is working absolutely perfectly. This is something that work is currently ongoing to deal with.”
HMS Queen Elizabeth was built by the Aircraft Carrier Alliance, a grouping of BAE Systems, Babcock and Thales.
