Mr. John Crawley:

In the years 2009 to 2013, inclusive, the authority was not in a financial position to deal with the project so the board did not prioritise spending on it. That is not to say that we did not monitor developments in respect of the vessel, and I must point out that we have a maintenance contract arrangement for it. We are obviously able to ascertain from the inside of the vessel where issues arise from time to time. We have also used divers to inspect the hull of the vessel externally. It is difficult to get a full picture unless the vessel is removed from the water entirely. Best practice would be that such a vessel would be placed in dry dock every two years.