The Cost of Keeping An Assault Ship Idle – The Assault Ship ALBION was a casualty of the 2010 Strategic Defence and Security Review when, despite serving as the Fleet Flagship.     The ALBION being the first of the two Assault Ships vessels placed at extended readiness in early 2012 as the BULWARK had then recently finished a major refit.     The ALBION is expected to re-enter “high readiness” (code for operational) when the BULWARK is put into extended readiness in 2016.     The cost of keeping ALBION idle is said to £300,000 per annum but this of course does not take account of the building cost, in the region of £ 820 million for the pair and you then are in the world of how you account for money.   The plain fact is that if you take a thirty year service life for an Assault Ship the Capital Cost of these ships in the equivalent of more £ 13 million each year (£ 820 million divided by 60) so whilst we may be spending just £ 300,000 to keep the ALBION available, we are watching a wasting asset.