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The 280m-long warship is leaking due to a problem with a shaft seal and is now taking on about 200 litres of water every hour, according to The Sun. HMS Queen Elizabeth, which has only been
operating since December 7, is the UK’s largest and most powerful aircraft carrier in history. WHERE IS HMS QUEEN ELIZABETH NOW? The military ship is currently docked in Portsmouth on
England’s south coast where engineers will attempt to fix the leak. A Royal Navy spokesman said: "An issue with a shaft seal has been identified during HMS Queen Elizabeth's sea
trials; this is scheduled for repair while she is alongside at Portsmouth. "It does not prevent her from sailing again and her sea trials programme will not be affected." HOW MUCH
DID HMS QUEEN ELIZABETH COST TO BUILD? The 65,000 tonne warship cost an eye-watering £3.1billion to build and carries a crew of about 700. Some 10,000 workers and a number of ship-building
yards around the country were involved in its construction including, Govan and Scotstoun in Glasgow, Appledore in Devon, Cammell Laird in Liverpool, A&P on the Tyne in Newcastle and
Portsmouth. Any repair costs will be absorbed by the building partners as the fault existed before the ship was delivered by the Aircraft Carrier Alliance. However, there are now fears that
taxpayer will have to foot the bill for any future issues. An insider told The Sun: “We’re about to uncover the true cost of carrier operations. "There is a feeling that the ACA
mugged us off by not sorting this before the handover.” Investigations are taking place to discover if HMS Queen Elizabeth’s sister ship HMS Prince of Wales has the same leak problem. HMS
Prince of Wales was officially named in September and is due to begin sea trials in 2019.