§ 4. Mr. Bryan DaviesTo ask the Secretary of State for Defence how many merchant vessels are currently available to the United Kingdom for defence purposes.
§ Mr. HanleyVessels are chartered on the worldwide market, so naturally availability varies from day to day.
§ Mr. DaviesIs it true that during the Gulf war only five of the vessels that were chartered were British? What kind of deal did the British Government get out of the charter costs involved in that exercise?
§ Mr. HanleyThe hon. Gentleman is right—out of 156 vessels that were chartered during Operation Granby, 151 were foreign flagged. Not only that, but during Operation Grapple, which is taking place now on the Adriatic, all the 18 ships that have been chartered are foreign flagged. One reason for that is the success of the British merchant fleet in having contracts from which it would not wish to resile. Surely our armed forces should make sure that they get the best value for money for the ships that we need to hire.