To ask the Minister of State, Department for Business, Innovation and Skills what estimate has been made of the cost of rectifying the problem of acoustic noise from the bow of the Natural Environment Research Council vessel RRV James Cook; and how many operational days are expected to be lost while corrective modifications are made. (302017)

The Natural Environment Research Council (NERC) has not yet initiated a project to rectify the bow issue on the RRS James Cook. There is therefore no available estimate of the cost, or the time that would be lost while any modifications are made.