ON THE SEAS.

Press, Volume LIV, Issue 16299, 24 August 1918, Page 9

ON THE SEAS.

TWO FRENCH STEAMSHIPS SUNK. (By Cable.—Press Association.—Copyright.) (Australian and N.Z. Cable Association.) (Received August 24th, 12.10 a.m.) PARIS, August 23. The Messageries Mari times liner, Polynesian (6363 tons), en route from Bizerta to Sa'.onica with Serbian troops, was mined on August 10th. and sunk.' Nineteen persons are missing. Tho French stenmer Balkan (1709 tons) was torpedoed in tho Mediterranean on August loth and sank within a minute. One hundred and two of theso on board were saved.

THE SUBMARINE WAR. SHIPPING LOSSES. . ... (By Cable.—Pmm Aseociatioit—Copyngn*"' (Australian and N.Z. Cable A»oci»UM».) (Renter's Telegram#.) LONDON. August 22. The Press Bureau states that xhe following are the July . me , r SS n .i t , losses, all gross tons: —British 176,4/w, Allied and neutral 136,582; 313,011. Compared with the aajustea Juno losses, these figures show a British increase of 10.965 and an HS? and neutral increase of 20,55-, compared with the adjusted May losses they show a British decrease of 55,Jul and au Allied and neutral increase of 3529. Compared with July of last vear. tho combined British, Allied, and neutral deciease is 262,938. The British losses lor July exceeded tho building in the United Kingdom yards by 34,531, and tho neutral losses for the same month bv 12.220, reducing the July deficit to 22.311, compared with an "average monthly deficit during the first six months of this year of nearly 90,000 tons. The. sailings to and from Britain in July were more numerous than ever. NORWEGIAN VICTIMS. RESCUED. LONDON, August 22. j An American vessel pickcd up eleven members of tho crew of a Norwegian steamer six hundred miles from land. They had been in an open boat eleven days, and lived on crabs and ia,jn water for eight days. They had neither oars nor sail. Tho boat capsized four times. Three were drowned and the provisions wero lost. It appears that tho submarine shelled | tho stcamor at a range of three miles, and sank her with a bomb after tho j crew had left. The survivors wero almost exhausted when pickcd up.