The Royal Navy’s largest vessel, the HMS Queen Elizabeth, could be seen from the Isle of Wight this lunchtime (Tuesday, March 5).

See video taken from the Fishbourne car ferry below

The aircraft supercarrier set off from Portsmouth Harbour at 11.30am this morning, ahead of its journey to Rosyth in Scotland for repairs.

HMS Queen Elizabeth – the largest and most powerful vessel ever constructed for the Navy – had been due to sail from Portsmouth to the North Sea on NATO’s largest mission since the Cold War.

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However, the sailing was called off last minute after an “issue” was found in final checks with the starboard coupling – similar to the malfunction HMS Prince of Wales suffered off the coast of the Island in the summer of 2022.

The Royal Navy launched an investigation and said the fault was caused by "wear and tear".

The HMS Prince of Wales replaced its sister ship at the NATO exercises – despite experiencing its own mechanical issues, which delayed its departure by 24 hours.

In February, the defence minister Timothy Minto said: “Following initial investigations, HMS Queen Elizabeth will be required to sail for Rosyth in Scotland to undergo repairs for an issue with her starboard propeller shaft coupling, which will be carried out in due course."