Royal Navy's HMS Prince of Wales departure for repairs delayed

HMS Prince of Wales set off from the Isle of Wight to Portsmouth after it broke down

The departure of the Royal Navy aircraft carrier HMS Prince of Wales to Scotland for repairs has been delayed.

The £3bn warship broke down off the Isle of Wight in August as it headed to the US from Portsmouth Naval Base.

Inspections by divers and engineers found that the 33-ton starboard propeller had malfunctioned, with a coupling holding it in place breaking.

However, engineers have been unable to remove the damaged propeller in time for it to travel to Rosyth.

The 65,000-tonne ship was brought back from the Isle of Wight to Portsmouth for further examination by engineers from Babcock before the decision was taken for it to travel to Rosyth, where it was built, to undergo the repairs in dry dock.

Work continued over the weekend to remove the giant propeller but it was not completed in time for the planned sailing on Monday afternoon.

Divers are continuing to work on the ship but it is not expected to sail, assisted by a tug, until at least later this week because of a storm with heavy winds forecast on Wednesday.

The Navy has not commented on how long the repairs are expected to take and how long HMS Prince of Wales will be absent from its role as Nato's flagship.

Its sister ship HMS Queen Elizabeth was sent to the US in its place to take over some of the planned engagements, including hosting the Atlantic Future Forum in New York - a defence conference aimed at strengthening UK and US bonds.

A Royal Navy spokesman said: "The full extent of the repairs will be known once the ship has entered dry dock.

"We are committed to getting HMS Prince of Wales back on operations, protecting the nation and our allies, as soon as possible."