§ The Earl of Mar and Kellieasked Her Majesty's Government:
What is the purpose of the Maritime Auxiliary Service; and in which locations it operates. [HL4750]
§ The Parliamentary Under–Secretary of State, Ministry of Defence (Lord Bach)The Royal Maritime Auxiliary Service (RMAS), part of the Warship Support Agency, provides a wide variety of marine services to the Ministry of Defence and other customers, with the major customer being the Royal Navy. It provides navigation and mooring buoy maintenance; support to military exercises and training worldwide; coastal and European armament freighting; oceanographic data acquisition system (ODA S) maintenance for the Met Office; and trial and exercise support at certain UK ranges.
The RMAS is a civilian manned organisation with a central mooring depot and headquarters at Pembroke Dock, Pembrokeshire, a base at Kyle of Lochalsh, Rosshire, and small support bases within Portsmouth and Devonport naval bases.