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Ministry of Defence

Answer

Mr. Mandelson: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence (1) what the Government's policy is regarding the break-up, recovery and recycling of United Kingdom naval vessels; [143887] (2) which United Kingdom naval vessels have been broken up over the past five years; and where each vessel was broken up; [143888] (3) which United Kingdom naval vessels are being considered for breaking up; [143889] (4) what criteria are used to determine where work to break up United Kingdom naval vessels is carried out. [143890] Mr. Ingram: When declared surplus to requirements, named RN ships are sold via the Ministry of Defence's Disposal Services Agency (DSA). The DSA actively promotes sales on a Government-to-Government basis but, if a buyer cannot be found, vessels may be sold by means of a competitive tender exercise and bidders may include parties interested in scrapping the vessels. Of all the vessels sold over the past five years, the following (including Royal Fleet Auxiliaries) were sold for breaking: _________________________________________________________________________________________________. Financial year Scrapped in: HMS Birmingham 2000-01 Spain HMS Beaver 2000-01 Turkey RFA Olwen 2000-01 India RFA Olna 2000-01 India _________________________________________________________________________________________________. When disposing of surplus vessels, the Government's policy is to comply with all national and international environmental legislation (including the Basel Convention) while ensuring the maximum return for the taxpayer. The DSA is currently examining disposal options for HMS Intrepid, one of which is a sale for scrapping overseas.

Secondary information

Type

Written question

Reference

416 c25-6W; 143887;143888;143889;143890

Session

2003-04

Subjects

Decommissioning Location Waste disposal Warships USA

Contains statistics

Yes

Link

View this Written question on www.publications.parliament.uk