§ Mr. BradshawTo ask the Secretary of State for Defence, pursuant to his answer to the hon. Member for Glasgow, Govan (Mr. Sarwar) of 25 May 2000,Official Report, column 612W, on shipbuilding, what progress has been made on placing the contract for the survey vessels. [127003]
§ Mr. HoonI am pleased to be able to announce that the prime contract for the procurement of two new specialist warships, known as Multi-Role Hydrographic and Oceanographic Survey Vessels, has today been awarded to Vosper Thornycroft (UK) Ltd. The contract includes the provision of 25 years contractor support for the vessels and is worth some £130 million in total over the life of the ships.
Following a competition run by Vosper Thornycroft, the sub-contract to build the ships has been awarded to Appledore Shipbuilders in Devon. The ships, which are due to enter service in 2002 and 2003, will be named HMS Echo and HMS Enterprise. These important new warships demonstrate our commitment to the modern force structure that emerged from the Strategic Defence Review. They will be equipped with the latest survey systems, and provide a significantly enhanced surveying capability and much improved sea-keeping capability over the vessels which they will replace, which are old and increasingly costly to maintain. They will be part of the Fleet's front-line in a variety of world-wide operational roles, as well as undertaking specialist surveying tasks necessary to the long-term effectiveness of the Royal Navy.
Construction of the new ships will sustain some 500 jobs directly in the shipyard and some 300 in other suppliers, mainly in the local area.