Ships (Hansard, 19 January 1999)

§ Mr. Hancock
To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what has been the interval between major refits for HMS Ark Royal. [65730]

§ Mr. Doug Henderson
The first refit of HMS Ark Royal has not yet taken place.

§ Mr. Hancock
To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what is the forecast service life of each of the three aircraft carriers in service with the Royal Navy; and 393W what will be the (a) design life and (b) design interval between major refits of the proposed replacement carriers. [65910]

§ Mr. Spellar
The forecast service life for HMS Invincible, HMS Illustrious and HMS Ark Royal is approximately 30 years. We plan to replace these carriers from around 2012 with two new, larger vessels. The planned service life of the new ships is a minimum of 30 years. The new carriers will not undergo lengthy major refits in the traditional sense, but will instead undergo shorter, but more frequent periods of maintenance lasting about six months every five or six years.

§ Mr. Hancock
To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what is the average time between major refits for(a) Type 22 and (b) Type 23 ships. [65753]

§ Mr. Doug Henderson
Typically, the average time between major refits for RN Frigates and Destroyers is in excess of 7 years.