Written question asked by Lord Davies of Stamford (Conservative) on Thursday, 26 April 2001, in the House of Commons. It was due for an answer on Thursday, 3 May 2001. It was answered by Lord Moonie (Labour) on Thursday, 3 May 2001 on behalf of the Ministry of Defence.

Ministry of Defence

Question: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, what plans he has for the replacement of the Leaf class tankers currently in service with the Royal Fleet Auxiliary; what plans he has to order further auxiliary oilers for the Royal Fleet Auxiliary.

Answer: Mr. Quentin Davies: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence (1) what plans he has for the replacement of the Leaf class tankers currently in service with the Royal Fleet Auxiliary; [159718] (2) what plans he has to order further auxiliary oilers for the Royal Fleet Auxiliary. [159711] Dr. Moonie: We are currently considering options on how best to provide, in the medium to long term, afloat support for the future Royal Navy, including the capabilities currently provided by the Royal Fleet Auxiliary's Leaf class tankers, which are currently planned to leave service between 2008 and 2009. BAe Systems Marine are building two Auxiliary Oilers (AOs), Wave Knight and Wave Ruler, for the Ministry of Defence, which we expect to enter service in 2002. These ships will provide the fast fleet tanker capability formerly supplied by RFAs Olna and Olwen. The company has suggested that two further AOs could contribute to meeting the future afloat support needs of the Royal Navy. Alongside the wider studies into afloat support, we are currently evaluating whether further AOs would be a cost-effective solution to our future capability needs.

Secondary information