Question to the Ministry of Defence:

To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, pursuant to the Answer of 9 May 2023 to Question 183243 on Royal Fleet Auxiliary, (a) for how long and (b) for what reason (i) two RFA Wave Class Tankers and (ii) one RFA Tide Class Tanker was not available as of 3 May 2023.

The Tide Class Tanker is undergoing routine statutory maintenance and will return to service later this year. RFA WAVE RULER and RFA WAVE KNIGHT were placed in extended readiness in 2017 and 2022 respectively and are expected to remain so until further notice.