§ Mr. HepburnTo ask the Secretary of State for Defence (1) what options were given to the bidders for the roll-on/roll-offs for the provision of crews; [50888]
(2) what the preferred crewing option of AWSR Ltd. was when selected as the preferred bidder for the roll-on/roll-offs; [50889]
(3) what arrangements will apply for the crewing by British seafarers of the roll-on/roll-offs. [50887]
§ Dr. MoonieBidders in the competition for a strategic sealift service were invited to tender on the basis of a crewing option that they considered would offer best value for money and to provide details that would facilitate an assessment of sponsored reserve crewing of all six ships. AWSR initially expected to be using sponsored reserve crews on the six ships when they were in Ministry of Defence use, with British officers and multinational crews when the ships were on commercial work. Negotiations with AWSR in 2001 were able to take account of the implications and benefits of the Government's "British Shipping Charting a New Course" which had been published the previous year. As a result, when working for MOD ships will be manned by British crews who will be eligible to be called out as sponsored reserves and, although not mandated by MOD, British crews will man the ships being used in commercial trade.