§ Dr. David ClarkTo ask the Secretary of State for Defence, pursuant to his answer of 6 December,Official Report, column 241, if he will list the US navy ships which have been chartered by his Department to move United Kingdom equipment to Bosnia; what consideration he gave to the chartering of British merchant vessels; and if he will provide details of the financial arrangements concerning this charter. [6989]
§ Mr. SoamesThe names of the two US navy ships chartered to move United Kingdom equipment to Bosnia are USNS Cape Rise and USNS Cape Race. The Ministry of Defence charters shipping that best meets its sealift requirements in the most cost-effective manner possible. As they are non-trading vessels and therefore not committed to existing commercial charters, the US naval ships provide guaranteed availability with the ability to meet the initial rapid deployment time scales required of us by NATO. The US navy ships have been chartered under the auspices of a UK-US bilateral arrangement on a reimbursement basis. It is intended to charter civilian shipping on the international market for the balance of the sea deployment requirement for which British ship owners will have an opportunity to offer their vessels. The defence freight market representative at the Baltic exchange, acting on behalf of the Ministry of Defence, has now approached the market.