§ Mr. Wigleyasked the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food what is the cost of maintaining the civilian and Royal Navy protection fleet for defending the United Kingdom fishing fleet within Iceland's 200 mile limit.
§ Mr. BishopThe cost of chartering and operating three oil rig supply vessels and two civilian tugs for protection of United Kingdom trawlers fishing in the waters off Iceland up to 16th December 1975 is estimated at £74,000 per week.
Because of doubts about the ability of the three oil rig supply vessels to withstand the very bad weather conditions encountered off Iceland during the Winter, these have been withdrawn and will be replaced by more suitable vessels.
Apart from some extra costs, the running costs of Royal Navy ships operating in waters off Iceland are broadly those that would be incurred wherever the vessels were deployed.