§ Mr. BaileyTo ask the Secretary of State for Defence what his plans are for HMS Fearless; and if he will make a statement. [41862]
§ Mr. IngramAfter over 36 years, HMS Fearless, the last steam-driven surface ship in the Royal Navy, will be withdrawn from service upon her return from a successful deployment on operations in support of the campaign against international terrorism later this month.
Her replacement HMS Albion will commence sea trials later in the year, before entering service in January 2003. HMS Albion and her sister ship HMS Bulwark, which on current plans will enter service towards the end of 2003, will be significantly more capable than their predecessors HMS Fearless and HMS Intrepid.
The new vessels represent a major step forward in the modernisation of our amphibious shipping called for the strategic defence review. They will be equipped with vastly more sophisticated command, control and communication systems. They will also be able to deploy embarked forces much more quickly—by air and sea—and will use landing craft with 20 per cent. more landing capability and a Ro-Ro type configuration for rapid embarkation of vehicles.
Plans for the disposal of HMS Fearless are currently under review.