SINKING OF NEUTRAL SHIPS

Evening Star, Issue 23508, 23 February 1940, Page 7

SINKING OF NEUTRAL SHIPS

BLACK DAY FOR HOLLAND FOUR VESSELS LOST AMSTERDAM, February 21. This has been the blackest day for Dutch shipping since the outbreak of the war, four ships having been lost—the Tara, Den Haag, Alja, and the trawler Petten, a total of 14,366 tons. The Alja sank after striking a wreck, but the crew were saved. FREIGHTER SCUTTLED HEAVILY LADEN WITH CARGO. NEW YORK, February 21. The correspondent of the ‘ New York Times ’ at Bahia, Rio de Janeiro, reported that the German freighter Wolfsburg, which left Pernambuco early, in February with a heavy cargo of hides, sugar, and lard, scuttled herself on sighting a British warship. Details are lacking. SWEDEN'S LOSSES CLEAR EFFORT TO DESTROY COUNTRY'S TRADE (British Official Wireless.) RUGBY, February 22. (Received February 23, at 11 a.m.) The statement by the Swedish Foreign Minister yesterday on the losses of the Swedish merchant navy as the result of Nazi methods of universal sea war is' widely commented upon in the morning Press. Mr Guenther stated that 32 ships, totalling 64,000 tons had been lost by Sweden since the outbreak of war, and that 228 Swedish seamen had died and 15 were missing. Further, over half the losses were sustained while the vessels were plying between neutral ports. These figures, says the ‘ News Chronicle,’ represent “ a tremendous indictment of the Nazi’s policy at sea, and can hardly leave the Swedish people in doubt where their real interests lie. Clearly the aim of the Nazis is nothing less than total destruction of all Sweden’s overseas trade except her trade with Germany.” The ‘ Daily Telegraph ’ says: “ Nothing that any speaker in the Allied countries has said of the brutality of the German navy is more severe than this record compiled by a neutral statesman of wrongs done to his own country.” The bombing of a Swedish town by Soviet war planes is instanced by the ‘ Daily Telegraph ’ as another and “ one of the grossest cases ” of what must appear a deliberate attack on a neutral. In conclusion, the editorial refers to the sufferings of the whole of Scandinavia at the hands of the Nazis. “ Hitlerism’s policy is to compel neutrals to join a suicide club, every member of which must starve himself out. They have the power to resist. If they stand together and refuse supplies of the foodstuffs and timber and iron ore on which Germany is dependent they can stop the murder of their seamen and save their shipping and maintain their industries. In a British or French convoy, as M. Guenther appositely reminded them, not one Swedish ship has been sunk.” SURVIVORS FROM DUTCH VESSEL LANDED IN SPAIN LONDON, February 22. (Received February 23, at noon.) A message from Corunna (north-west Spain) states that a fishing boat landed 23 survivors of the Dutch vessel Tara, which was lost yesterday. The Tara sank rapidly after several explosions in the middle of the night. DANISH PRECAUTIONS RESTRICTIONS ON NORTH SEA TRADE COPENHAGEN, February 22. (Received February 23, at noon.) The Government has forbidden Danish ships to navigate the North Sea south of latitude 61, which passes through Bergen and the Shetland Islands, unless accompanied by other neutral vessels. . SLIPS OUT OF PORT CAMOUFLAGED GERMAN LINER RIO DE JANIERO, February 22. The German liner Antonio Delfino left Bahia camouflaged. CONTRABAND CONTROL WORK AT BRITISH BASES (British Official Wireless.) RUGBY, February 21. On Februai’y 20 there were 26 neutral ships in the United Kingdom contraband control bases, of which 23 had been thete five days or less. During the week ended February 17 the Contraband Committee considered the cargoes of 89 ships which arrived that week and 38 outstanding cargoes from the previous week. In 68 cases the entire cargoes were released. Fiftyfour cases were dealt with under the system of advance copy of manifests, and in 42 such cases vessels were released subject to formal checking of the original manifests.