UK Hospital Ship

There has been a resurgence in the concept of the UK having a Geneva Convention compliant hospital/aid ship. As RFA Argus for a number of reasons is listed as a casualty receiving ship as it does not comply with the Geneva Convention, this is a huge talking point. Announced by the MP for Portsmouth North (Penny Mordaunt), the concept (in a nut shell) would be to commission one or two hospital ships.

These vessels and their crew would be funded using money from the DFID (Department for International Development) funds [approx 0.7% GDP by law]. In turn this would alleviate certain pressures on the RFA fleet, as they would be first in line for humanitarian response etc.

A small thought of mine is that RFA Argus is coming to the end of her shelf life in 2024, could this concept if actioned be a method of saving the MOD some funds, whilst reducing the size of the RFA fleet. Or would the hospital/aid ships be under the blue ensign?

Definitely a topic to keep in mind!

All the best
Yorks2018