What does "that ship never left the port" mean?

I've heard this used in Britain (specifically England). Could someone explain to me what its meaning is?

Solution 1:

This could be an variation on the more common phrase

"That ship's already sailed"

This generally refers to a missed opportunity. For example, if you were planning on applying for a job, and then heard that someone had already got it, you might say,

"Well, looks like that ship has already sailed".

Here the ship is a metaphor for the job, but more generally it is a metaphor for any kind of opportunity.

I would expect that the phrase

"That ship never left the port"

would have a fairly similar meaning. But perhaps instead of the opportunity going to someone else or you being too late to take advantage of it, it would refer to a situation where a seemingly promising opportunity is never taken advantage of or, as suggested by @WayfaringStranger, was held back by its own flaws.