Mr. Chris Reynolds:

If we are working with a Spanish boat, we want to work in English. If we are responding to a stress emergency, we would prefer to do so through English. The Spanish boat should be using English. Air traffic control does not control Spanish aircraft in Spanish and everyone else in English. It is only by operating solely through English that we can guarantee consistency. My concern is that if the fleet expect someone on the end of the line in Valentia to be a fluent Spanish speaker, I cannot guarantee consistency. I cannot guarantee that every watch officer in Valentia will have good Spanish. A relief officer is currently on duty in Valentia while another officer is on holidays. I do not know if that individual has good Spanish. It is great the officers in Valentia can speak Spanish and they can offer a great service to the Spanish fleet, but co-ordination should be carried out through English. The extra bit of language skills helps, but it is not a reason to pick Valentia over Malin.