§ Mr. Ben ChapmanTo ask the Secretary of State for Defence when he plans to make an announcement about the contract for roll on/roll off vessels for his Department. [135662]
§ Mr. HoonI announced on 26 October 2000,Official Report, columns 413–14, that subject to final negotiations, we intend to sign a 25-year private finance initiative contract with AWSR Shipping Ltd., based in the UK, for the strategic sealift service. This will deliver the requirement of six roll on/roll off ferries identified in the Strategic Defence Review. Two of the ships for this service will be built by Harland and Wolff, securing 400–600 jobs in Northern Ireland, and four will be built in the Flensburger shipyard. As part of this contract, the ships will be fully crewed by British merchant mariners when they are in Ministry of Defence use. The contract is worth around £950 million (based on expected usage of the ships), of which we expect that about 85 per cent. will be spent in the United Kingdom.