TNAG-2134-FCO40-3049-Shipping-in-Hong-Kong-1990 — Page 55

PARAGRAPHS FOR INCLUSION IN GCBS LETTER TO MEMBER COMPANIES

EXERCISES TRADE DAGGER AND EXPANDED SEA 1990

Two major exercises involving Naval Control of Shipping (NCS) will be held in March 1990: exercise Trade Dagger 90 within the NATO area and Expanded Sea 90 outside that area. Both exercises are scheduled from 19-30 March 1990 inclusive. Participating nations will be as follows:

UK, Belgium, Canada, Denmark, France, Greece, Italy, Netherlands, Norway, Portugal, Turkey, US and West Germany;

Trade Dagger 90

Expanded Sea 90

- UK, [list to be completed following receipt from

MOD of finalised EXOPORD]

Both exercises consist of participating nations exercising the procedures for sailing Allied merchant shipping world-wide under Naval Control and Civil Direction of Shipping Organisations. No live military forces will participate.

As far as merchant ships are concerned the exercises will involve boarding some vessels by NCS officers in order to brief Ships` Masters on NCS procedures and to seek from them details of their ships and intended movements. Ships Masters should, therefore, be alerted to this.

As in past exercises these activities will be on a strictly no-cost, no-delay' basis and ships will not be diverted from their normal commercial commitments. Apart from the boarding procedure the exercise is essentially of a 'paper nature and the actual movements of ships will not be affected in any way. All major UK ports will be participating and, in addition, requests to board ships may also be received in ports of other countries from Allied NCS authorities.

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As part of the process of building the world-wide plot of British flag merchant ships the initial order to open ENVELOPE TANGO will be passed on [

] by a general message transmitted by PORTISHEAD Radio using the GBMS organisation. The order will be repeated on [

1 for ships who may not have received the initial order. This will be the only general message for British merchant ships and Ships Masters should not expect further exercise traffic from PORTISHEAD or from Coast Radio Stations. To ensure a full response from British flag ships but see the exceptions listed further on in this letter we would ask that Masters be instructed to open ENVELOPE TANGO and transmit the FORMAT ALFA reply at

1 if they have not already done so following the general messages, or if they have not been boarded by an NCS

[

z on

officer.

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