Britannia ship-shape after door repair

A FAULTY door seal that leaked and left the Royal Yacht Britannia tilting at its berth has been fixed, officials have said.

Fire crews in Edinburgh were called to the ship on Friday last week after it started taking on water and listing to starboard.

It happened during an operation to move the vessel – for the first time in 14 years – to a nearby dry dock for repairs and painting.

The water was pumped from Britannia and it was moved, several hours later than planned, to the dock in the Port of Leith.

Yesterday, officials said work on the yacht had been progressing “very well”.

The hull has been power-washed to remove the barnacles and is now ready for three coats of paint.

Bosses of the ship believe they will not need to bring the ship back on to dry land again for another two decades.

Britannia chief executive Bob Downie said: “With the weather being so favourable, the works have proceeded much quicker than we could ever have anticipated.

“An announcement will be made next week as to when Britannia reopens, but there is a good chance that it will be earlier than 1 February.”