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TELEGRAPHIC ADDRESS: BANKLINE LONDONEC3

TELEX NUMBER:

LONDON

LONDON OFFICE

887392

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TELEPHONE: 01-283 1238.

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Mr Quech

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THE BANK LINE LIMITED"

OUR REF

YOUR REF

REGISTERED OFFICE 102, HOPE STREET, GLASGOW

REGISTERED NUMBER. 5991 SCOTLA

HKK 243/1

RECEIVED IN REG:STAY NO. 5) 1 1 JUN 1979

From: The Lord Inverforth OFFICER

MOST URGENT

INCO

PA

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TR

Acton T.

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BALTIC EXCHANGE BUILDINGS,

21, BURY STREET,

LONDON, EC3A 5AU

W SEAD

CC B

6th June, 1979.

Dear Prime Minister

VIETNAMESE REFUGEES

1

Leary Scal

B/Lord B/AL- Blaker Ps/Me Marta

BIPUS

986) Fir A Pauchs

Thank you so much for your letter of the 4th June, Mr Cortaz

received here yesterday evening whilst in fact I was seeing Mr. Nott with the General Council of British Shipping team.

Mr Aluray

Mr Leally

Your kind remarks about the Master and crew of the "Sibonga" gusti

are much appreciated, as indeed is all the help the Government has given us in resolving this particular problem.

I am pleased to be able to tell you with confidence that Captain Appleby and his staff on board "Roachbank" are of comparable standard to those serving on "Sibonga", so that we can at least be proud of the way the ship continues to be handled in her regrettable predicament.

Nevertheless "Roachbank" continues to cause us

vital concern.

-

I covered all the points which we find so worrying in my letter to you of the 30th May, but a week later as of today's date we have the situation completely unresolved, with the ship still at anchor off Kaohsiung with the 293 refugees still under my Company's care. From experience gained on "Sibonga" we know conditions are deteriorating daily, as these refugees (a high proportion of whom are children) were in a pathetic state when they were rescued, and with the best will in the world we just do not have the facilities to adequately deal with the health and specifically hygiene problems with which the care of these unfor- tunate people presents us.

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Legal Raiser

UND HKG DE

FED EESD NAD.

/Over.

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