To ask Her Majesty’s Government, further to the remarks by Earl Howe on 12 January (HL Deb, col 2159), concerning the fleet of up to six offshore patrol vessels which will support UK destroyers and frigates, which one of the current four offshore patrol vessels will be paid off.
Answered on
30 January 2017
On current plans, the four in service Offshore Patrol Vessels (OPVs) will decommission between now and 2019. These will be replaced by the single class of five Batch 2 OPVs currently committed to, with four already under construction, each of which is some 300 tonnes heavier than the current Class. This will provide a more modern, cost effective and capable fleet to meet the Royal Navy's patrol requirements and contribute to the commitment in last year's Strategic Defence and Security Review of up to six patrol vessels.