§ Mr. Dalyellasked the Secretary of State for Defence which installations (a) on the Falkland Islands and (b) on the dependencies before the Argentine invasion were available to supply fuel to Her Majesty's ships; and what was the total capacity.
§ Mr. BlakerThe only such installation was in Port Stanley. We do not normally publish the capacity of such installations.
§ Mr. Dalyellasked the Secretary of State for Defence from what sources HMS "Endurance" obtained fuel during her deployment in the South Atlantic.
§ Mr. BlakerPrior to the outbreak of hostilities, mainly from the depot at Port Stanley but also from other ports of call as necessary. With the arrival of the task force tanker support would have been available.
§ Mr. Dalyellasked the Secretary of State for Defence (1) what is the fuel capacity of HMS "Endurance";
(2) what is the range of HMS "Endurance" (a) at full speed and (b) at maximum economical speed.
§ Mr. BlakerI am not prepared to say.
§ Mr. Dalyellasked the Secretary of State for Defence whether, during her deployment in the South Atlantic, HMS "Endurance" provisioned or replenished at any port (a) in Chile and (b) in Argentina.
§ Mr. BlakerHMS "Endurance" would normally take on board fresh food when visiting any port and additional stores and fuel if required. During her recent deployment she called at many ports including, before the beginning of hostilities in the South Atlantic, one in Chile and several in Argentina. Details could only be provided at disproportionate cost.