Ms Jacqui McCrum:

There has been a rapid decline in the Naval Service and that is acknowledged. When we go to purchase a ship, we do not just buy it off the shelf. It takes time to buy these things and we need to plan ahead, so we plan ahead progressively and with a basis of strategic and operational needs and how it will be operated. At that stage, the advice we got was that we needed to operate two smaller ships within the Irish Sea and that particular area. That is why we purchased the ships. A very strong business case was put forward for purchasing them, and that is why the purchase was made. Those two ships will house 25 people each. They are family friendly and are suitable for a base outside of Haulbowline. It was a strategic decision to purchase them.