Prime Minister
I have been asked to present this silver salver to the Commanding Officer of the “Manchester” as representing all the work done by the Armilla Patrol for merchant shipping and in particular from this particular group of bulk transport and many other companies. They greatly admire the work of the Armilla Patrol and want to give something tangible which the ship can keep as a record of her work here, which of course will continue.
It is my very great pleasure to present … . Captain … .
Captain
Thank you very much indeed.
Prime Minister
… . with enormous thanks to you, to all the sailors, to all the support ships and to all of the families, without whose support we could not do such a wonderful job. [end p1]
The whole United Kingdom is very proud of the work that the Armilla Patrol is doing. 486 ships have so far been escorted up or down the Gulf by the Armilla Patrol—a marvellous record—this year only. That is the record so far this year.
Captain of the “Manchester”
Really, I speak on behalf of all those who have been on Armilla, who are on Operation Calendar, to say that we have greatly enjoyed—I think “enjoyed” is the right word—the privilege of bringing through the merchantmen who, as we all know, are fully entitled to trade as they wish in and out of the Gulf. It has been a wonderful experience, I know, for all of us. We are very grateful to the BT companies for this beautiful bit of silver and I think the friendship that they have shown is typical of the friendship that we have been shown by all the merchant ships with whom we have had the good fortune to come into contact over the last eight years whilst the Armilla Patrol has been running. [end p2]
Prime Minister
And the mine-sweepers, of course, have been running much less time than that but they, as you know, are doing a superb job and we do not send the mine sweepers home—they stay here—but now and then we change the crews.
We have everyone represented here. We also have representatives of the Dutch mine-sweeper and the Belgian mine-sweeper—the Captains—who of course sail with our mine-sweepers so that we sail as one whole command.
(QUESTIONS & ANSWERS)
Question
Can I ask you what your impression is of the ceasefire agreement now?
Prime Minister
It is an agreement that the ceasefire shall be in place by August 20. There are a lot of arrangements to be made before that time and the observers to be got in place, so everyone has to be just as much on guard now as they were last week or the week before or the week before that and we hope the ceasefire will operate from now, but we cannot be sure. We cannot be quite sure until we see how things go. We believe it will come about and then, on August 25, the negotiations will begin between Iran and Iraq about a comprehensive settlement. [end p3]
Prime Minister
Are you absolutely dead anxious to continue this interview?
Question
Very quickly, Mrs. Thatcher—one more question.
Prime Minister
You can't take a broad hint, can you?
Question
No. I have been here for two hours!
What is the future of the Armilla Patrol now and the mine-sweepers?
Prime Minister
The Armilla Patrol will stay here until we are certain that there is no further threat.
At the moment, the ceasefire does not come into operation until August 20, so nothing is different at the moment, except that we hope they will not attack, but we do not quite know so we must be just as certain, just as cautious, just as careful as we were previously, and the Armilla Patrol will stay here so long as there is a threat. We do not know whether there will be a request to help clear mines further north in the Gulf.
I do suggest you put your cameras on the “London” . It is coming past for that purpose. [end p4]
Question
Are you proud of the Armilla Patrol, Prime Minister?
Prime Minister
We are very proud of the Armilla Patrol and everyone in the United Kingdom is enormously proud of the Armilla Patrol. 486 ships escorted this year so far. All done quietly, without fuss, just in the characteristic way you expect from the Royal Navy and also the support ships, and we are proud of the mine-sweepers.
It is pretty hot work here, isn't it?
(TALK TO CREW)
Prime Minister
May I, on behalf of everyone in the United Kingdom, say a very big “thank you” to all of those who serve in the Armilla Patrol, the support ships, the mine-sweepers and the Dutch and Belgians who sail with us, for the magnificent task you are doing in keeping this waterway free for ships to be able to sail up and down.
We know that without your work the oil traffic and the other merchant traffic may not have continued on this waterway. It is extremely important to Great Britain, it is extremely important for the whole of the Western World. [end p5]
We realise it is hot work, but I want to say this to you: I am asked almost every Tuesday and Thursday, when I answer questions in the House of Commons, please will I thank the people of the Armilla Patrol. It is my great privilege today to come abroad and thank you personally and also to thank your families who, too, are very proud of the work you are doing but who have to make considerable sacrifices for you to be here.
I understand that this year, so far you have escorted 486 ships up the Gulf. It sounds a tremendous total and says in no uncertain terms the load of work which you carry. We have every confidence in the way in which you carry it out. There is no-one better than the Royal Navy and the support ships.
Thank you very much indeed on behalf of us all!
That's all! (laughter)