§ Mr. Trotterasked the Secretary of State for Defence how old is the vessel "Reward"; when she was last in service, and in what capacity; whether her accommodation is of a modern standard; 479W and what the cost of equipping her to patrol the North Sea will be.
§ Mr. Judd"Reward" is a trusty 30-year-old ocean-going tug, and was last in service in October 1972. Her accommodation is not modern but is spacious and comfortable. The cost of preparing "Reward" for her new rôle in the North Sea depends on the results of a detailed survey of the ship's condition which is in progress at Her Majesty's Dockyard Chatham, but is expected to be considerably less than that of acquiring a comparable vessel commercially.