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Ma. Reda
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CONFIDENTIAL
MINISTRY OF DEFENCE
Main Building, Whitehall, LONDON S.W.I
Ronday ANG.
Я адне
on
M
Telephone: WHItehall 7022, ext.
Sir A. Carly worthy,
To see. We could look
at this further al- ony
Dear Sunny Sumery
in
Monday
?
7
13th July, 1967
melling
TB17
Fleet Auxiliary Tanker for Hong Kong
I have just spoken to you about the availability of a Fleet Auxiliary tanker for carrying water to Hong Kong to help tide them over until normal supplies of water are resumed. The position is as follows.
2.
The most that we could do, and this would be subject to our clearing the matter with Commandin-in- Chief, Far East, would be to make a tanker available which has a capacity for 4 million gallons of water. Its tanks would require a 10-day cleaning out period before it could be used for water carriage, and if it were to get water from Manila, which seems to be the nearest available point though we have not checked whether water would be available there or not, it would take two days steaming to Hong Kong and two days back. This would mean that at the most it could do six trips a month with a total contribution of 24 million gallons, We could not spare this ship much after the 1st October since practically all of our tankers will then be involved in the Aden operation and in the present commit- ment for the Beira patrol. Please let me know whether on the above basis you want us to take the matter any further. This will involve on our part putting ti to the Commander-in-Chief, Far East, in order to ascertain whether in fact he could release' this tanker. We have not cleared this with him yet.
3.
I am copying this letter to de la Mare in the Foreign Office.
RECEIVED IN ARCHIVES No. 63
17 JUL.967
HWB18/43
W.S. Carter, Esq., C.V.0.
Ceren hun
Anel
(A. Campbell)
HongKong and west Indian Department 'C',
Commonwealth Office, The Church House, Great Smith Street, S.W.1.
CONFIDENTIAL
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