HC Deb 03 July 1998 vol 315 cc309-10W
Mr. Hancock

To ask the Secretary of State for Defence how many times Russian Navy ships have berthed at United Kingdom ports within the last five years [47587]

Dr. Reid

Since June 1993 there have been six visits to United Kingdom ports by Russian Navy ships; these were as follows:

Date Port Ship
25 May-1 June 1993 Liverpool Sovremenny class destroyer
7–10 October 1993 Dartmouth Ugra class training ship
20–25 May 1994 Portsmouth Kilo class conventional submarine
27 March-1 April 1995 Portsmouth A Survey ship
26 April-2 May 1996 Portsmouth Udaloy class destroyer
3–4 May 1996 Plymouth
22–26 September 1996 Portsmouth Sovremenny class destroyer

Mr. Hancock

To ask the Secretary of State for Defence how many times the Royal Navy has conducted joint exercises with the Russian Navy over the last five years. [48152]

Dr. Reid

The Royal Navy exercise with the Russian Federation Navy under both bilateral arrangements and in multinational exercises. The term exercise can cover a wide range of activities and no single tally exists for all RN activities in which the RFN was involved. However, records show that over the past five years the following Royal Navy ships have participated in the following exercises with the Russian Federation Navy:

Period of exercise
August 1993 HMS Brilliant Off Gibraltar
September-October 1994 HMS Newcastle

RFA Olna

Skaggerak and off Norway
May 1996 HMS Gloucester

RFA Black Rover

Off Portsmouth
June 1997 HMS Iron Duke Off Severomorsk
May-June 1997 HMS Cromer

HMS Walney

RFA Orangeleaf

Skaggerak
June 1997 HMS Iron Duke

HMS Bridport

HMS Cromer

Baltic Sea
June 1998 HMS Somerset Off Gdansk