DEFENCE SECRETARY
HMS ENDURANCE
CONFIDENTIAL
1. Please refer to my minute of 19 September.
I have since seen
David Mellor's minute of 18 September in which he supports the
proposal to press the owners of the POLAR CIRCLE to agree to a one season bare boat charter, and Kenneth Clarke's Minute of
24 September. If we can secure a charter of the POLAR CIRCLE, we shall meet our short term objective, but I am concerned about the longer term solution beyond this season and believe that we need to
address this issue now.
2. In my minute of 18 June, I said that there were a number of elements in the defence of our Dependent Territories of which ENDURANCE was one. I expressed the hope that we would have an opportunity to discuss these defence issues of fundamental national interest, namely the defence of British sovereignty over our overseas territories. I hope that we can have this discussion soon' but meanwhile there is the urgent question of a replacement for
ENDURANCE. There are two points that concern
me. The narrow issue of securing a replacement for ENDURANCE and the wider issue of the defence of our Dependent Territories.
3.
Until now, the Ministry of Defence have funded the running costs and associated maintenance costs of ENDURANCE (she was of course, orginally bought entirely with MOD funds). The Ministry accepted that ENDURANCE would need replacing in 1996 and the recent discovery of hull defects has simply brought forward the need for replacement. It has not altered the requirement, or the Ministry of Defence responsibility to finance it.
4. I note from your minute of 12 September that the Ministry's market survey showed that only the POLAR CIRCLE, out of the eleven ships, came close to meeting their technical requirements for an ENDURANCE replacement. I understand that the Ministry of Defence
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CONFIDENTIAL
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