"I think someone should do their sums,'' Commander Robin Bawtree told The Royal Gazette . "It's a sum worth working out.'' The Navy had said its ships would continue to stop at Bermuda, he noted.

"Clearly, there will be costs we don't have at the moment,'' he said. Whether an agent would be appointed to act for the Navy or some other arrangement would be made... "there may be hidden charges that we don't know about.'' Someone should work out "whether it would be cheaper to maintain a minimal presence'' in Bermuda, he said.

Meanwhile, efforts continue to save part of Malabar. In December, Britain announced plans to close the Base next April.

British Conservative MP Mr. Rupert Allason, who chairs the Anglo-Bermuda Parliamentary Group, has appealed to Secretary of State for Defence the Hon.

Malcolm Rifkind over the Royal Navy Base.

Mr. Rifkind reportedly told Mr. Allason he was prepared to re-examine the closure if presented with a compelling economic case. Mr. Allason is now trying to assemble such a case.

Coincidentally, Mr. Rifkind is heading the UK delegation to a meeting in Bermuda of the British-American Parliamentary Group from May 6 to 8. It is understood efforts are afoot to meet with Mr. Rifkind about Malabar while he is on the Island.

A retired Royal Navy officer and longtime Bermuda resident recently appealed to Whitehall over the closure.

A copy of the letter from Capt. Sir David Tibbits to the Defence Staff in London was obtained by The Royal Gazette .

In it, Sir David raised the spectre of Bermuda falling into enemy hands.

"Strategically, Bermuda holds a unique position in the Atlantic,'' said Sir David, a former vice-chairman of the Ports Authority. "It is fair to say that it would be inconvenient -- even disastrous -- if the Island was suddenly possessed and held by a power hostile either to Britain or the USA -- Iraq, for example, as the Argentines took over the Falklands in 1982.

"It would not be difficult, presumably ... to recapture and reoccupy Bermuda should it be `lost'; yet there would be a diplomatic shambles for a while if it ever came about ...

"History leads one to believe that a British or US naval presence, however small, would discourage an attempt by another country to occupy it ... The cost in resources and money such as is now paid for Bermuda is surely a small price to pay for the security provided.'' Geographically, Bermuda was ideally situated for visits by ships from the Royal Navy and North Atlantic Treaty Organisation, he said. There were 40 visits to the Island in 1993, he noted. Some, like nuclear submarines, were not "straightforward''.

"What other ports of call with similar facilities are available?'' The Base only had 14 Royal Navy personnel and 11 Bermudian civilians, he said.

"Without HMS Malabar, someone else will have to organise the visits and will presumably have to be paid,'' Sir David said. "If any of the ...

facilities are retained or used temporarily, they too will have to be paid for at `civilian rates.' "Therefore, it is unlikely that the future will cost less than the present -- probably much more for a less efficient job, as was found when the Dockyard was closed in 1951 as an economic measure.'' If Malabar was closed, Royal Navy ships that visited Bermuda would have to compete with cruise ships and other commercial interests. "In this Island, money talks,'' he warned.

"Either the Royal Navy will have to pay heavily to get what it needs and wants, but now has `as right of ownership' -- or it will not get it, to its lasting disadvantage.''