Dense fog forced HMS Prince of Wales to postpone its entry into Norway over the weekend.
The captain of the Royal Navy’s £3.5billion, 65,000-tonne aircraft carrier decided it was unsafe to guide the 920ft vessel through the narrow fjord leading to Oslo.
The state-of-the-art warship had been heading to the Norwegian capital for a major security conference due to bring together senior naval commanders this week.
Its arrival was pushed back by roughly 24 hours. Norway’s Armed Forces operational headquarters in Bodø confirmed the delay, saying: ‘The captain thought there was too much fog.’
A defence source told the Daily Mail that the decision reflected ‘good seamanship’, stressing there was no ‘operational imperative’ to put the flagship at risk.
The move nevertheless drew mockery from some naval observers. One joked: ‘We will go anywhere, except if it is a little misty.’ Another quipped: ‘Bloody Russians with their fog machines.’
HMS Prince of Wales, designed to operate Britain’s F-35B stealth fighters, had interrupted its deployment in the Arctic and High North to attend the event.
The carrier was eventually escorted into the port by HMS Dauntless, the £1billion missile-defence destroyer, alongside Norwegian coastguard and police vessels.
Heavy fog delayed HMS Prince of Wales’s arrival in Oslo this week; the carrier is pictured in July
The aircraft carrier was bound for the Norwegian capital, pictured, for a major security gathering
The defence source said the crew had been trained to navigate in poor visibility and that the carrier carried the equipment needed to do so.
However, they added: ‘Was there an operational imperative to go through a really narrow gap in really bad fog? No, because they had time in hand to get to the event.
‘The commanding officer made a very sensible decision. Frankly, this is just good seamanship.’
HMS Prince of Wales is one of two Queen Elizabeth-class aircraft carriers operated by the Royal Navy, but its service has previously been disrupted by a series of technical problems.
In May, a minor defect required repairs and delayed the carrier’s planned voyage to the United States for celebrations marking the country’s 250th anniversary.
The vessel suffered a far more serious setback in August 2022, when a shaft coupling failed just two days after it left Portsmouth for a deployment to America.
The repairs were estimated to have cost £25million and kept the £3.5billion carrier out of service for almost a year.
The British flagship began its latest Arctic and North Atlantic mission last month, supported by HMS Dauntless, Merlin and Wildcat helicopters, as well as F-35B stealth fighters from 617 Squadron.
More than 1,200 personnel are involved in the operation, which forms part of Neptune Strike, a major Nato exercise featuring 17 nations, 20 warships, 40 aircraft and three naval task groups.
In a rare display of air power, F-35Bs from HMS Prince of Wales joined Norwegian land-based F-35As to escort a US B-52 bomber.
HMS Prince of Wales and HMS Dauntless take part in their High North deployment
British and Norwegian F-35 stealth fighters accompany a US B-52 bomber
Last week, the carrier’s stealth fighters were also scrambled to intercept a Russian Tu-195 Bear long-range bomber.
The carrier’s visit to Oslo coincides with the 1st Sea Lords’ International Sea Power Conference on Tuesday and the Atlantic Future Forum, a two-day event scheduled to conclude on Thursday.
Its sister vessel, HMS Queen Elizabeth, returned to Portsmouth on Thursday after a short period at sea.
The Ministry of Defence has been asked to comment on the delay caused by the fog.