§ 8. Mr. Pattieasked the Secretary of State for Defence whether he is satisfied with the availability and deployment in United Kingdom waters of the Royal Navy's ocean and coastal survey ships.
§ The Under-Secretary of State for Defence for the Royal Navy (Mr. A. F. P. Duffy)The matter is under review; but during 1978 surveys of home waters are planned to be undertaken by ocean survey ships and coastal survey vessels in the Celtic Sea, Irish Sea, St. George's Channel and around Rockall.
§ Mr. PattieIs the Minister aware that because three survey ships were retired, following the defence cuts in 1974, none of the existing vessels will be available this summer for more than a very few weeks to carry out vital survey work in British waters? Can he say whether the first of the new replacement vessels has yet been ordered
§ Mr. DuffyThe hydrograph strategic review body recognised at its recent meeting that sufficient capacity will not be 1307 available to meet all the survey requirements identified by the Department of Trade within the desired time scale, after essential defence work has been carried out, but this problem is under consideration with the Departments concerned.
The inshore survey craft continue to perform a very useful job in surveying coastal waters, quite unaffected by their age, although some are now getting rather old, and replacement plans are being considered in consultation with the civil Departments concerned.
§ Mr. James JohnsonIs my hon. Friend satisfied with the availability and deployment of naval vessels in fishery protection? Has he tightened this in the last 12 months? Can we have some statistics about that?
§ Mr. DuffyI hope at a favourable and appropriate opportunity to give my hon. Friend those statistics, but the House must know that the first year of the new regime of fishery protection was outstandingly successful. There were no problems, and the fishery protection squadron did its job well, as everyone in the industry knows, as well as my hon. Friend.