§ Sir Patrick Wallasked the Secretary of State for Defence what was the original cost of HMS "Fearless"; and what would be the estimated cost of a replacement at current prices.
§ Mr. BlakerHMS "Fearless" originally cost £10.6 million. It is not possible to provide an estimate for the replacement cost of this ship, since there are no plans to replace her and therefore no basis upon which to formulate a cost estimate.
§ Sir Patrick Wallasked the Secretary of State for Defence what is the estimated annual cost of maintaining HMS "Fearless" in commission and in reserve, respectively.
§ Mr. BlakerThe estimated annual costs are:
- in commission — £7.6 million
- in reserve — £0.3 million
However, if she was to be placed in reserve, HMS "Fearless" would first require a refit which would cost approximately £15 million at current prices.
The figure of £0.3 million does not take account of the cost of unforeseen maintenance problems which, owing to the highly specialised nature of the vessel, would probably be expensive to overcome.