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Amphibious Warfare

Answer

The normal operating cycle of every ship involves them entering different readiness levels depending on their programmes and Departmental planning requirements.

From records scrutinised, the number of days HMS Albion, HMS Bulwark, all the bay-class Landing Ship Dock Auxiliaries, Royal Fleet Auxiliary (RFA) Tankers and Type 23 Frigates spent at sea in each year from 1 January 2016 to 30 September 2018, is shown below:

YEAR	2016	2017	2018
HMS ALBION	0	72	120
HMS BULWARK	133	0	0
RFA CARDIGAN BAY	107	145	124
RFA LYME BAY	114	65	107
RFA MOUNTS BAY	202	127	130
RFA WAVE KNIGHT	171	201	46
RFA WAVE RULER	0	137	0
RFA TIDEFORCE	0	0	46
RFA TIDERACE	16	43	37
RFA TIDESPRING	1	82	118
RFA TIDESURGE	0	4	41
HMS ARGYLL	0	111	117
HMS LANCASTER	0	0	0
HMS IRON DUKE	132	94	0
HMS MONMOUTH	113	209	82
HMS MONTROSE	0	41	95
HMS WESTMINSTER	0	126	116
HMS RICHMOND	73	51	0
HMS NORTHUMBERLAND	0	0	65
HMS SOMERSET	113	95	61
HMS SUTHERLAND	127	103	154
HMS KENT	67	0	36

The records for the RFA Tide Class also reflect their customisation and trials packages required for their entry into service. While deployed away from the UK, ships will spend days at sea and alongside in ports around the world.

Secondary information

Type

Written question

Reference

HL10496

Session

2017-19

Grouped for answer

Yes

Subjects

Deployment Amphibious warships Amphibious warfare

Contains statistics

Yes

Link

View this Written question on www.parliament.uk