HL Deb 08 February 1979 vol 398 c965WA
Lord KENNET

asked Her Majesty's Government:

When:

  1. (a) a British naval vessel, and
  2. (b) a British merchant ship

last travelled in the Arctic Ocean, specifically in the Barents Sea, the Kara Sea, the Laptev Sea, the East Siberian Sea, the Chukchi Sea.

The MINISTER of STATE, FOREIGN and COMMONWEALTH OFFICE (Lord Goronwy-Roberts)

It is not general practice to give detailed information about Naval deployments, but they do take place to the Arctic Ocean from time to time.

In 1978 British merchant vessels made over 30 calls at Soviet ports which involved passage through the Barents Sea. No British merchant vessels passed through the other sea areas mentioned. Details for previous years could only be provided at disproportionate cost. It is, however, our understanding that the last British merchant vessel to pass through the Kara Sea did so in the mid-1960s.