120th anniversary of the Royal Fleet Auxiliary

That this House congratulates the Royal Fleet Auxiliary Service (RFA) on the 120th anniversary of its formation as a civilian Merchant Seafarer crewed Royal Navy support service in March 1905; applauds the work of the 1,650 civilian Ratings, Officers and apprentices in the RFA today who play an invaluable and flexible support role, including the UK’s response to grey zone threats to critical subsea energy and communications infrastructure; pays tribute to the hundreds of civilian Merchant Seafarers killed or injured on RFA and Ministry of Defence chartered ships during the major conflicts of the twentieth century, from both World Wars to the Falklands and Gulf conflicts; notes that new solid support and multi-role support ships will not be delivered to the RFA until the 2030s; welcomes the constructive resolution of the 2023-24 pay dispute between the recognised maritime unions and the RFA; notes the importance of UK civilian seafarers to strategic defence capacity; is concerned that UK resident crew only hold 11% of 160,000 jobs in the UK shipping industry; and calls on the Government to work with the maritime trade unions, including the National Union of Rail, Maritime and Transport Workers, to increase investment in recruitment and retention of civilian Merchant Seafarers and new RFA ships to maintain the UK’s maritime security and the discharge of international responsibilities of safe passage and navigation for the rest of this century.