Question to the Ministry of Defence:

To ask Her Majesty's Government whether the proposed naval cable monitoring and repair ship is intended to replace the sophisticated ships currently looking after undersea cables.

The Multi Role Ocean Surveillance Ship will be included in the 30-year cross-Government shipbuilding pipeline which will be published in the National Shipbuilding Strategy later this year. This new capability will enhance our ability to protect our underwater critical national infrastructure and our ability to detect threats in the North Atlantic and beyond.