HC Deb 10 July 1979 vol 970 cc250-1
14. Mr. Stephen Ross

asked the Secretary of State for Defence what recent appraisal has been made of the effectiveness of the FV Type 710 Osprey fishery inspection vessel as now in service with the Danish Navy.

Mr. Speed

As the hon. Gentleman will know, representatives of my Department had the opportunity to visit the Osprey when she was in London recently, but we have not yet had the opportunity to see her operating at sea in the patrol role.

Mr. Ross

Will the Government pursue their interest in the Osprey? As the Government are seeking economies in public expenditure, does not this type of vessel make a great deal more sense than the more expensive type of vessel and aircraft protection that we now have for fishery protection? Would not standardisation within the EEC make more sense, this being a British designed ship al-tough, unfortunately, built in Denmark?

Mr. Speed

We shall be pursuing investigations into the Osprey in a patrol role. We were especially interested in ascertaining how the vessel could cope with rather rougher water than we have seen so far. She is one of the designs being considered—there are a number of others—for this sort of vessel. No final decision will be taken for a number of months.

Mr. James Johnson

Is the hon. Gentleman satisfied that these vessels have the seagoing qualities that are needed for fishery protection? Does he think that they are in any way comparable with the Island class, which the Labour Government introduced? I do not think that they are.

Mr. Speed

The hon. Gentleman takes up the very point that I was making. That is why we want to see Osprey in rough weather. She will have to stand up to the sort of weather that the hon. Gentleman knows well. A requirement will be for boarding operations in sea state 6, for example. If she cannot stand that up to distances of 200 miles from our shores, frankly, she will be no use.

Mr. Farr

Has my hon. Friend investigated whether these vessels will be suitable for strengthening our North Sea oilfield patrol force?

Mr. Speed

That is all part and parcel of the same sort of requirement that we are considering in the offshore role. That is one of the items that we shall be considering in terms of the Osprey, together with a number of other designs that are now being evaluated. As my hon. Friend will know, the rigs are some considerable distance from our shores. Therefore, these ships will have to withstand rough weather conditions and must have the necessary endurance and proper sea-keeping qualities.

Mr. Dully

Will the Minister confirm that there has been no reluctance on the part of his Ministry to undertake the appraisal to which the question refers? Does he agree that there has been unwillingness on the part of the makers to furnish his experts with the requisite information?

Mr. Speed

There has been no unwillingness on the part of my Ministry. We are still awaiting detailed information. I hope that it will be possible to obtain that information shortly and to gain first-hand experience in the sea conditions mentioned by the hon. Member for Kingston upon Hull, West (Mr. Johnson).