IOR/R/15/2/704

The file comprises copies of correspondence, instructions and other papers relating to questions of jurisdiction over foreign (neutral) vessels in Bahrain and Kuwait waters, and British officials’ legal powers over the crew of such vessels. The correspondence was provoked by a specific incident in which a German national was found to be amongst the crew of a Scandinavian tanker, the Aase Maersk, due to call at Bahrain. The file’s principal correspondents include: the Political Resident in the Persian Gulf (Lieutenant-Colonel Charles Geoffrey Prior); Admiralty officials; and officials at the India Office, including the India Office’s legal adviser.

The file includes:

• a copy of signals from the Admiralty, dated 13 October 1939, outlining the action that can be taken against ‘enemy aliens’ on board foreign vessels, travelling as either passengers or crew members (ff 21-22);
• secret instructions, issued by the Foreign Office in July 1940, regarding the circumstances under which enemy subjects may be removed from neutral ships (ff 30-31);
• a copy of amended paragraphs (numbers 42 and 43) of the Detaining Officers’ War Instructions (India), 1935 (ff 34-35).