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Written question asked by Kenny MacAskill (Alba Party) on Tuesday, 30 January 2024, in the House of Commons. It was due for an answer on Thursday, 1 February 2024. It was answered by James Cartlidge (Conservative) on Wednesday, 7 February 2024 on behalf of the Ministry of Defence.


Patrol Craft: Costs and Deployment

Question

To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, where each offshore patrol vessel (a) is deployed and (b) was manufactured; what the purchase cost was of each vessel; and what the annual (i) running and (ii) maintenance costs are of the Overseas Patrol Squadron.

Answer

In answer to the hon. Member's questions I can provide the following information:

a) The offshore patrol vessels (OPVs) are currently deployed as follows:

  • HMS Mersey, HMS Severn and HMS Tyne are all in the UK
  • HMS Forth is in the South Atlantic with British Forces South Atlantic Islands
  • HMS Medway is in Gibraltar
  • HMS Trent is in the Caribbean
  • HMS Tamar and HMS Spey are in the Indo-Pacific

b) HMS Mersey, HMS Severn and HMS Tyne are Batch 1 vessels, built by Vosper Thorneycroft at Southampton.

HMS Forth, HMS Medway, HMS Trent, HMS Tamar and HMS Spey are Batch 2 vessels, built at BAE Systems’ shipyards on the Clyde.

c) It is not possible to give a purchase cost for individual vessels, however the Contract value for the two Batches were:

  • The contract for the three Batch 1 vessels had a value of £378 million.
  • The contract for the five Batch 2 vessels had a value of £635 million.

i) The annual running costs for all OPVs for Financial Year (FY) 2022-23 was £54.122 million.

ii) The maintenance costs for all OPVs for FY 2022-23 was £51.250 million.


Secondary information

Type
Written question
Reference
12110
Session
2023-24
Subjects
Costs Deployment Patrol craft
Contains statistics
Yes
Link
View this Written question on www.parliament.uk