Previous Poll: HMS Queen Elizabeth springs a leak

The leak was reported as being caused by a faulty seal in one of the ship’s propeller shafts, which was causing the ingress of 200 litres of sea water an hour.

HMS Queen Elizabeth is the first of two new UK aircraft carriers being built in the UK to enter service. These are the largest ever vessels to be built for the Royal Navy.

Much like any commissioning exercise, sea trials are carried out to ensure a vessel’s seaworthiness, prompting us to ask if it was fair or relevant for the national press to report the 'fault'.

A total of 1,250 Engineer readers responded to the poll, with the vast majority (84 per cent) agreeing that there had been an overreaction and that such leaks and anomalies are to be expected.

Only 14 per cent agreed that — at a cost of £3bn — the carrier should not have such a fault. The remaining two per cent elected to choose the ‘none of the above option’.