HMS Queen Elizabeth sailed into her home port of Portsmouth for the first time today.
The ship will berth at the Princess Royal Jetty at Her Majesty's Naval Base Portsmouth, which will be home to both of the new aircraft carriers.
The berth has been upgraded and strengthened to support the carriers as part of a £100m raft of infrastructure upgrades, including the removal of 3.2 million cubic metres of sediment from the harbour and approach channel, making it wide and deep enough to accommodate the 65,000 tonne ships.
Captain Jerry Kyd, the Commanding Officer of HMS Queen Elizabeth, said: "HMS Queen Elizabeth's first entry into her home port of Portsmouth is an historic, proud and exciting occasion.
"The UK's future flagship, as well her sister ship HMS Prince of Wales, will be powerful symbols of Britain's outward facing global character and ambition.”
Both aircraft carriers are being delivered by the Aircraft Carrier Alliance, a partnership between the Ministry of Defence and industry.
HMS Queen Elizabeth in numbers:
Displacement: 65,000 tonnes
Length: 280 metres
Maximum beam: 70 metres
Top speed: 25 knots
Range: 10,000 miles
Crew size: 679
Embarked forces: up to 921
Source: BAE Systems
Comment: New oil is a lose-lose for the offshore economy
The spill map from the <u>every day</u> link in the report looks to be roughly 400km × 400km @ say 100m average depth = 16,000 cubic <b>kilometres...