HC Deb 28 January 2004 vol 417 c367W
Mr. Hoyle

To ask the Secretary of State for Defence how many foreign ships have been hired by his Department in each of the last five years. [150409]

Mr. Ingram

Freight-carrying ships chartered by the Ministry of Defence are categorized as either British or non-British registered. In the calendar year 2003, 58 non-British registered freight-carrying ships were chartered. I refer my hon. Friend to the answer given by my hon. Friend the Member for Kirkcaldy (Dr. Moonie) on 15 January 2003,Official Report, column 626W, to my hon. Friend the Member for Dover (Mr. Prosser) for details of all vessels chartered in earlier years.

Specialist ships chartered by the Ministry of Defence are categorized as either British or foreign-owned. The following foreign-owned specialist ships were chartered over the last five calendar years: 1999—eight, 2000—fourteen, 2001—four, 2002—twelve, 2003—nine.