Enclosure No.1 in Commodore Hongkong's letter No.960
dated 18th April 1935.
No.H.K.530.
Commodore's Office,
Hongkong.
12th April, 1935.
104
Gentlemen,
I regret to have to bring to your notice that in spite of the lessons we have learnt in the recent piracies which have occurred on the China Coast, e.g., NORVIKEN, SHUNTIEN and TUNG CHOW
when British Subjects were exposed to very serious risks, the organisation of the /T Scheme in the case of certain ships is still greatly in need of improvement.
During the past ten days there have been a large number of failures on the part of ships to report in accordance with the Anti-Piracy Communication Scheme. Although the failures are practically confined to the ships of one firma I feel this a suitable opportunity to remind all concerned of the vital importance of these reports, which are the only means at my disposal of ascertaining the safety or otherwise of ships.
For your information I will state the
procedure adopted for dealing with routine reports (special action is taken in the case of ships carrying bullion or otherwise requiring extraordinary precautions). If a report is not received at the time ordered, one hour's grace is given since it is known that atmospheric conditions may delay reports. At the end of this hour, if the report has not been received, the Anti-Piracy Officer on my Staff (or, in his absence, my Duty Staff Officer) is informed at once. It is then his duty to consider what action requires to be taken; it is normally sufficient at this stage to request Government Radio and the Patrol vessel to endeavour to establish communication with the defaulting ship, though further action may on occasion be thought necessary, if, for example the conditions are good for wireless and the ship is known to be in a dangerous area. If the ship again fails when her second report is due, immediate action is taken, I am called at once, so are my Staff Officers, and if the Flagship is at Hongkong, the Commander-in-Chief's Staff is informed as well. If not already in the vicinity of the ship, the patrol vessel is ordered to proceed to her estimated position with the utmost despatch, and it will
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