Warships: Finance

Mr. Wallace
To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what the cost was of (a) HMS Ocean, (b) HMS Bulwark and (c) HMS Illustrious when commissioned in 2007 prices.

Mr. Bob Ainsworth
The costs of HM Ships Ocean, Bulwark and Illustrious at the time they were commissioned, uprated to 2007-08 prices, are set out in the following table:

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|Vessel         |Date of commissioning|Price uprated to 2007-08 prices (£ million)|
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|HMS Ocean      |1999                 |289.2                                      |
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|HMS Bulwark    |2004                 |279.7                                      |
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|HMS Illustrious|1982                 |553.9                                      |
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