The UK has two aircraft carriers, HMS Queen Elizabeth and HMS Prince of Wales. Both are evidently sitting at anchor in Portsmouth.
I read an article recently saying that the ships cannot be moved due to crew shortages. I don’t know how true that is.
"The warship left from Portsmouth Naval Base on Saturday before an 'emerging mechanical issue' occurred while it was off the south-east coast of the Isle of Wight. The departure of the Nato flagship had already been delayed from Friday because of a technical problem, although it is not known if the incidents are related."When one rattles those sabers, one surely needs to have sabers upon which to rely.Source: Royal Navy chief: Breakdown of £3billion aircraft carrier HMS Prince of Wales is ‘very disappointing’ Standard, UK, 31 August 2022
"It was a mechanical error measured in millimeters that caused the UK’s newest and largest aircraft carrier to cease operations and now requires an estimated $31 million fix. As for who’s paying, the Ministry of Defence said it doesn’t know yet. Responding to a parliamentary question this week, Ben Wallace, UK secretary of defense, said that his department continues “examining the liabilities and who should cough up” for a 33-tonne (36.4-ton) starboard propeller shaft fault which forced the Prince of Wales, the second Royal Navy Queen Elizabeth class aircraft carrier, to break down in August 2022, just one day after departing its home base of Portsmouth, England, for training exercises in the US."
Source: Millimeters cost millions: UK still to decide who ‘should cough up’ for $31M aircraft carrier repair bill Breaking Defense, 17 May 2023
"If there is a serious issue with the carrier, it would be another blow to the Royal Navy and to the ruling Conservative government, which came under fire for the slow progress and high costs for the repairs of HMS Prince of Wales. Her return to service was further delayed due to the availability of parts – a fact that highlighted troubles the Royal Navy could face in a major crisis."
Source: Does the Royal Navy Have a Serious Problem With its Aircraft Carriers? MSN, 1 November 2023
"The next criticism of the Royal Navy’s carriers is that they were staggeringly, unbelievably expensive. British Army officers in particular have a deeply entrenched belief that our carriers are the reason for the Ministry of Defence’s ongoing budgetary 'black hole', a problem which has dogged it for 25 years and shows no sign of going away. The two ships started costing money in the late noughties, well after the black hole appeared, and total acquisition cost was a bit over £6bn depending what figure you choose. That’s a lot of money, but it’s not a lot of money for an MoD equipment project.
Source: We need to talk about aircraft carriers Telegraph, UK, 16 January 2024
Saw a series on YouTube about Eliz 2’s first trip out. Beautiful ship but a few snags.