1.
SV EXT PAN Across 'Miranda' at quayside.
0.10

2.
SV PAN From window of bridge to officer.
0.18

3.
SCU Commander Adams interviewed.
0.32


SOF BEGINS:- "Commander, what role.......



SOF ENDS: "....busier time this year."


4.
SV EXT. 'Miranda' at quayside.
1.25


REPORTER: Commander, what role will 'Miranda' play off Iceland this year.



COMMANDER: She'll play the usual role which she's very well accustomed and for chich she has now....this is her third year....and the fifth year we've done this in Iceland.....and she will support the ships, mainly for the safety of life and limb. We have a doctor on board and a surgery which is quite well fitted, though not like a hospital ashore. And we also have a capacity to repair electronic equipment and, repaired of a limited capacity.



REPORTER: If a trawler...a British trawler....faces arrest from an Icelandic gunboat what will you do?



COMMANDER: This is entirely up to the trawlers as always and the local Icelandic authorities and their judiciary. We are not empowered to intervene.



REPORTER: But you expect a busier time this year.



COMMANDER: We expect a busier time this year.



'MIRANDA' AT QUAYSIDE, COMMANDER BEING INTERVIEWED, CREW PREPARING TO SAIL.




Initials RW/VS 13.08 RW/VS 15.10



Script is copyright Reuters Limited. All rights reserved

Background: With one week to go before Iceland extends her fishing limit to 50 miles, Britain's trawlermen are preparing for the possibility of a new cod war.

In Hull, the support ship 'Miranda' was preparing on Friday (25 August) to leave on Saturday (26 August) for Icelandic waters.

It will be the ship's third trip. The vessel is well equipped to help trawlers should they sustain damage or mechanical trouble, and to look after sick or injured fishermen.

But in the event of a British trawler being arrested by an Icelandic gunboat, the Miranda' is not empowered to intervene.

BBC reporter Philip Hayton interviewed the ship's captain, Commander Adams, before he sailed.

SYNOPSIS: As Iceland prepares to extend fishing limits to fifty miles Britain's trawler men are worrying about the possibility of a new "cod war". In Hull, the support ship 'Miranda' prepared to leave for Icelandic waters. Philip Hayton spoke to her captain, Commander Adams.

The' 'Miranda' .....support ship for Britain's trawlers in Icelandic waters.