British flagship HMS Queen Elizabeth catches fire in latest Royal Navy embarrassment

9 March 2024, 21:04

The Royal Navy £3billion warship HMS Queen Elizabeth has caught fire in dock where it was waiting for repairs.

The ship has suffered minor damage while docked at Glenmallan just weeks after it was pulled from NATO exercises because of a fault.

The situation is now at an end and there were no fatalities in the resolved incident.

Read More: HMS Queen Elizabeth takes on ‘lion’s share’ of operations against Islamic State

No fatalities, minor fire damage to the ship but all over with,' a source on the ship told the UK Defence Journal.

The aircraft carrier recently suffered a malfunction which will force it to pull out of Operation Steadfast Defender - the latest setback for a military under scrutiny.

It was replaced by HMS Prince of Wales - which itself suffered a fault delaying its departure.

The carrier, which deploys advanced F-35 stealth jets, was meant to lead the alliance's largest exercise since the Cold War.

And a defence minister had recently boasted that Britain could send such a ship to the Red Sea, as critics of the expensive vessels questioned why they had not been sent to bomb Houthi rebels.

But it is only 18 months on from the Prince of Wales suffering a propeller malfunction.

It broke down en route to a diplomatic mission to carry out exercise with the US and Canada.

Critics blast the carriers as expensive projects that have eaten up the defence budget, and would be vulnerable to drone attacks and hypersonic missiles.

Supporters say a carrier strike capability is indispensable for a major power, allowing Britain to hit targets globally and project power, and that carriers would be protected by advanced warships.

But those voices in support are not helped by malfunctions - nor the appearance of both carriers in the dock at Portsmouth instead of joining the USS Eisenhower carrier in striking back at Houthis.

Britain combined with the US again in attacking Houthi sites overnight. But it launched jets from Cyprus, where the UK has major bases.

"Our judgement was that with the Ike on station – the Eisenhower on station – and with jets available from Akrotiri, that we were able to meet the challenge as it is now," he said.

"That's not to say that when the Eisenhower goes home, if we were needed to plug a gap in US deployments, or if the situation deteriorates and we need more, that we wouldn't [send a carrier]."

More than 30 targets were hit across three locations, with three struck by RAF Typhoon jets.

Foreign secretary Lord David Cameron said: "The UK and the US have carried out further strikes on Houthi military targets.

"We have issued repeated warnings to the Houthis. Their reckless actions are putting innocent lives at risk, threatening the freedom of navigation and destabilising the region.

"The Houthi attacks must stop."

Britain has also been accused of being unprepared to fight, with troops not sufficiently trained for war and stockpiles at low levels.

But the £3.5billion, 65,000-ton ship was pulled out at the 11th hour when rust was discovered on the affected part – leaving it at risk of it breaking down at sea.

It is understood that the situation is now at an end and there were no fatalities or ordnances involved in the incident.

'No fatalities, minor fire damage to the ship but all over with,' a source on the ship told the UK Defence Journal.