Written question asked by Mike Hancock (Liberal Democrat) on Thursday, 1 December 2011, in the House of Commons. It was due for an answer on Monday, 5 December 2011. It was answered by Peter Luff (Conservative) on Thursday, 8 December 2011 on behalf of the Ministry of Defence.

HMS Protector

Question: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what the total monetary cost was of HMS Protector from acquisition to operational readiness.

Answer: I am pleased to confirm that as scheduled HMS Protector left Her Majesty's Naval Base Portsmouth, to commence her first Antarctic deployment, on 28 November 2011.The contract for the lease of HMS Protector, which commenced in March of this year and is worth £26 million over three years, includes the acquisition of the vessel and full contractor support. The Ministry of Defence spent a further £3.7 million converting HMS Protector for military use. It is not possible to separately identify other operating costs during her conversion period, such as the fuel used to conduct her sea trials or her crew training.

Secondary information