Written question asked by Mike Hancock (Liberal Democrat) on Wednesday, 16 July 2003, in the House of Commons. It was due for an answer on Tuesday, 16 September 2003. It was answered by Adam Ingram (Labour) on Tuesday, 16 September 2003 on behalf of the Ministry of Defence.

Ministry of Defence

Question: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, what plans he has for (a) modernising the Royal Navy fishing protection fleet and (b) ordering further Tyne class offshore patrol vessels; for what reasons plans to transfer Anglesey, Lindisfarne and Guernsey have been delayed; and if he will make a statement.

Answer: Mr. Hancock: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what plans he has for (a) modernising the Royal Navy fishing protection fleet and (b) ordering further Tyne class offshore patrol vessels; for what reasons plans to transfer Anglesey, Lindisfarne and Guernsey have been delayed; and if he will make a statement. [127255] Mr. Ingram: A programme of modernisation of the Royal Navy fishery protection fleet is currently under way. The capability provided by the five Island Class vessels is being replaced with three modern and more capable River Class Offshore Patrol Vessels (OPVs). The first two, HMS Tyne and HMS Severn, have now entered service. The third, HMS Mersey, is currently scheduled to enter service early next year. Unsolicited proposals have been received from two companies; however, the Ministry of Defence currently has no plans to order additional OPVs. The five surplus Island Class vessels have been sold to Bangladesh. Angelsey's transfer has been delayed by about two weeks due to problems with her gearbox. There has been no delay to the planned transfer of Lindisfarne and Guernsey.

Secondary information