Asked by: Stephen Gilbert (Liberal Democrat - St Austell and Newquay)
Question to the Ministry of Defence:
To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, how many instances of fouling from abandoned or lost fishing gear affecting Royal Navy ships there have been in (a) UK or (b) non-UK waters in the last two years; how many operational days have been lost from (i) ship and (ii) personnel activities as a result of those instances; and what estimate he has made of the cost of the (A) loss of operational activity and (B) repairs as a result of those instances.
Answered by Mark Francois
The Royal Navy has no such record of any fouling by abandoned fishing gear; therefore the Royal Navy has no record of a ship being unable to complete its tasking due to fouling by fishing gear in the last two years.