SEA CONTROL

Gisborne Herald, Volume LXVI, Issue 20074, 21 October 1939, Page 6

SEA CONTROL

CONTRABAND CHECK CARGOES FOR GERMANY ELIMINATING DELAYS DESIRE OF BRITAIN

| (Klee. Ti'l. Copyright —United Press Assn.) (British Official Wireless.) Reed. 1 p.m RUGBY, Oct. 20. Satisfaction is felt by the British ! contraband control authorities that | considerable acceleration has now : been attained in dealing with the examination of neutral ships. ; During the past week a number of such ships were examined and cases were referred to the Ministry of EcoI nomic Warfare and decided by the ! contraband committee within a period 1 of two or three days. Also two Dutch ships were cleared without reference to the committee on the receipt of satisfactory assurances ' that the cargoes were not destined ultimately for Germany. ! Similar .guarantees have been al--1 ready obtained from three vessels not yet arrived at the control base. Therei fore the delay in these cases should ! not amount to more than the time necessary to confirm the correspondence of Hie ship's cargo with the deI tails already furnished to the Minis- , try. Co-operation Needed On the other hand, it is not possible j for the contraband control to deal j rapidly with neutral shipping unless | the shipping companies and neutral I owners of cargo are prepared to give | full co-operation. In many cases the | delay is not the fault of the British | authorities. Unless the fullest details i of cargo and adequate assurances are 1 supplied to the Ministry, it is essential for the latter to scrutinise all i cargoes with the greatest care to ; ensure that none of them arc destined for the enemy. Germany is now cut off from pracI tically all overseas sources of supply and the German Government consequently is resorting to every artifice to obtain its requirements. The great- | cst efforts are being made to disguise ; consignments and it is remembered that during the last war one German purchasing agency alone worked under no less than 200 separate ■ aliases in neutral countries. Memorandum Prepared Naturally the British Government : does not interfere with trade going to neutral countries adjacent to Germany merely for the sake of interference. But it must satisfy itself that the trade passing is destined solely i for the benefit of neutrals. As soon as it is able to satisi'v itself on this i point there is no reason for shipping ! to be detained. A memorandum prepared by the Ministry of Economic Warfare sugj gesting ways in which neutral shipowners and merchants can co-operate will shortly be issued.