Spectacular sight in Hamburg: HMS “Queen Elizabeth” docks

Bild: wikipedia
Hamburg will soon witness an impressive maritime event. Next Monday, the British aircraft carrier HMS “Queen Elizabeth” will moor at the Steinwerder cruise terminal as part of NATO exercises. The arrival of this gigantic ship, following the recent visit of the “Gorch Fock”, promises to be a spectacular sight.

Due to strict security measures around the terminal, public tours are not possible. However, early risers have the chance to catch a glimpse of the ship when it passes Teufelsbrück at around 7:30 a.m. and shortly afterwards passes the Altonaer Balkon before continuing on its way to Kuhwerder Hafen. Approaching by boat is not permitted, as the water police closely monitor the area and divers search the quayside for suspicious objects in advance.

The HMS “Queen Elizabeth” set sail from Portsmouth on November 4. The dimensions of the ship - 284 meters long and 73 meters wide, with capacity for 1450 crew members and 40 fighter planes - make it a challenge on the Elbe. Intensive coordination between the area control centers and the pilots of the Elbe and Hamburg was necessary to ensure a safe arrival.

This is not the first visit by a British aircraft carrier to Hamburg. The last visit took place in 2011 with the “Ark Royal”, which has since been scrapped. The HMS “Queen Elizabeth”, which was commissioned in 2017 and cost around 3.5 billion euros, is one of the Royal Navy's two most modern aircraft carriers of identical design. Originally designed to carry Lockheed Martin F-35B fighter jets, it has also been used as a helicopter carrier.

In honor of this visit, the Mayor of Hamburg, Peter Tschentscher, will host a reception in the Senate Guest House on Tuesday. Around 75 guests are expected to attend, including the captains of the HMS, high-ranking officers from the British and German navies and local military and government representatives. According to defense experts, the visit, which is primarily for training purposes, also carries a symbolic message of Western solidarity in the face of external threats. An exact date for the ship's departure has not yet been set.