HMS Queen Elizabeth makes historic first visit to Belfast since 1965

HMS Queen Elizabeth has arrived in Belfast, marking the first visit by a Royal Navy aircraft carrier to the city since 1965. The historic port call comes as the UK’s flagship continues a three-month deployment around the UK and northern Europe in her role as a NATO command ship.

The Belfast Harbour posted on Facebook ahead of the visit, “The Royal Navy aircraft carrier will arrive in Belfast as part of a scheduled visit, so keep an eye out for her in Belfast Lough from sunrise as this impressive vessel makes its approach.”

The vessel was greeted by a crowd that gathered along Belfast Lough early at sunrise.

The carrier departed Portsmouth in early September for a three-month deployment around the UK and northern Europe in her role as a NATO command ship. She has recently completed her first major refit since her commissioning in 2017.

What is HMS Queen Elizabeth?

HMS Queen Elizabeth is the Royal Navy’s flagship and the lead ship of the Queen Elizabeth-class aircraft carriers.

Commissioned in 2017, she is the largest warship ever built for the Royal Navy, capable of operating F-35B Lightning jets and helicopters. The carrier can carry up to 40 aircraft and has a core ship’s company of around 700 personnel.

Describing the carrier’s role, the Royal Navy says HMS Queen Elizabeth is “the Nation’s Flagship” and provides “a conspicuous presence on the global stage”.

Royal Navy’s new all-day dining concept

Alongside the visit, HMS Queen Elizabeth is serving as a testbed for the Royal Navy’s new all-day dining concept, aimed at giving sailors greater freedom to eat around their working patterns rather than fixed meal times. The initiative forms part of the service’s wider effort to modernise onboard catering and improve wellbeing for personnel at sea.

HMS Queen Elizabeth has been selected for the trial of the new ‘Generational Change to Feeding’ programme. The Navy is looking at ways to modernise and improve the nutrition of what it offers to meet the expectations of today’s sailors.

Warrant Officer 2 ‘Barney’ Barnes, HMS Queen Elizabeth’s Catering Warrant Officer, said, “Everyone onboard is busy, so giving people a chance to eat at a time that suits them and their working pattern should be a big help to a lot of people.”

Providing more dining flexibility for sailors

One of the changes is more flexibility in when the sailors can eat. Batch cooking enables the Navy to provide quick, easy, healthy, and tasty meals.

Many sailors prefer to take a light bite during lunchtime instead of a heavy meal. Watchkeepers often prefer to skip breakfast and get some rest after their shift. Some people can miss their scheduled meals due to exercises.

As part of the trial, one of the carrier’s two main galleys has been turned into the ‘grazing galley.’ It is offering food non-stop from 9 am to 6 pm every day. Sailors can select snacks like salmon bagels, fruit salad, and toasted paninis.

The ship’s aft galley is continuing to provide the traditional three full meals daily. This allows the ship to both offer set meal times while giving sailors flexibility.

Reducing workload for the catering department

The catering load of the ship’s 50-strong catering department can be heavy, especially when the ship has all its squadrons embarked. The grazing model helps to spread out the workload for the department over the day.

The Ship’s Logistics Officer Adam Cook said, “Our goal is to make catering easier in the long run. Spreading demand throughout the day will ease some of the pressure on those working regular galley shifts.”

While the effort remains in the trial period, the Navy is reporting “so far so good.” The ship’s company has been giving positive feedback, and the lighter workload has allowed catering personnel to add “personal flair to food presentation.”