HMS Prince of Wales expected to stay in Gibraltar all week

HMS Prince of Wales is in Gibraltar.  The 280 metre long aircraft carrier is the Royal Navy's largest vessel alongside its sister ship, HMS Queen Elizabeth.

It's the second time the 3 billion pound carrier visits the Rock, having first stopped here in 2021 on her maiden overseas voyage.

The warship passed through the strait, into the Mediterranean, earlier this year in May, ahead of major allied exercises.

HMS Prince of Wales recently achieved full operational capability during scheduled exercises under NATO command, meaning it could mobilise within five to 10 days in a crisis.

She is armed with F-35 stealth jets and is supported by HMS Dauntless, a Type 45 destroyer, HMS Richmond, a frigate, and RFA Tideforce, all of which arrived in BGTW over the course of the day yesterday.

UK Defence Secretary, John Healy, last week described the aircraft carrier as ready for war and 'available to allies if NATO provides escorts'. 

The carrier’s deployment around the globe was a demonstration to Putin, he said, of NATO's 'hard power' - Mr Healey was speaking during a visit aboard the Prince of Wales off the coast of Naples last week

The ships will remain in Gibraltar over the coming days, and a 200 metres exclusion zone has been established to the west of the Port where the carrier is moored until this coming Friday.

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HMS Prince of Wales requires a minimum crew of around 700 to operate, but we can assume this number is currently closer to the maximum complement of 1,600 – that’s what is required when aircraft are aboard, and the carrier achieved full operational capability during those scheduled exercises in the last few weeks.

There’s a crew of around 200 aboard HMS Dauntless, another 200 aboard Richmond, and RFA Tideforce and Tidespring can carry over 100 each – that’s potentially more than 2,000 visitors on the Rock this week, plenty of pubs packed with sailors round town last night; a healthy shot in the arm for Gibraltar’s nightlife economy.

Two years ago the MOD announced up to £50 million worth of infrastructure projects had been committed to and were in the design phase – one of which was the refurbishment of the South Mole.

We haven’t had updates since then, although in May this year Gibdock said it was seeking private investment to expand its dockyard and make it suitable for aircraft carriers.  This would be no small feat and would involve significant dredging within the harbour to accommodate vessels of this size.

Until then, the Prince of Wales is moored in the only place that can accommodate ships of this size.