BARGES STOPPED

Gisborne Herald, Volume LXXV, Issue 22617, 21 April 1948, Page 5

BARGES STOPPED

BRITISH_ACTION SOVIET ZONE CANALS RUSSIAN RESTRICTIONS (11 a.m.) BERLIN, April 20. It is officially announced that the British authorities have suspended barge traffic o n canals through the Soviet occupation zone because of the Russian regulations which will require a new system of documentation for barges. The British protested to the Russians who replied that the British would be notified when the new system had been worked out. The traffic affected by the British suspension includes that of Czechoslovakia, Berlin and between Hanover and Hamburg. The Russian authorities announced that they had granted 3796 transport permits into the Western zones since April 1 but had refused 1340 applications because they constituted a ‘ direct' threat to Berlin’s economy.” The British Government is preparing a formal Note to the Soviet Government claiming compensation for the loss of British lives in the collision between the Viking airliner ar-d a Russian fighter over Berlin.