Germany’s Losses In Iron Ore, Norway’s Ships

Northern Advocate, 30 April 1940, Page 5

Germany’s Losses In Iron Ore, Norway’s Ships

(Received 1 p.m.) RUGBY, April 29. The at'ention of the British Press is again being directed to the effect of the invasion of Norway on Germany’s supplies of iron ore. The subject is also attracting the attention in the newspapers of certain neutrals, and prominence is given in London to a carefully-balanced survey in the Vatican newspaper, “Observatorc Romano.” It points out that in 1938, Germany produced 11,000.000 of the 33,000,000 tons she required. Of 22.000.030 tons she had hitherto obtained from abroad, some 1,000,000 tons came from Norway and 9,000,000 from Sweden. Traffic Paralysed. The blockade of Narvik and the destruction of the railway to Kiruna have paralysed traffic. The situation, it is pointed out, may change, but at the moment, Germany has lost 9,000,000 tons imported from Allied countries and 10,000,000 from Scandinavia, and can only count on getting 3,000,000 tons from other sources at a time when iron ore is of para, mount importance. Shipping Losses.

The paper examines the loss which Germany’s Scandinavian adventure has inflicted upon herself in regard to shipping

Norway’s mercantile fleet of 2950 ships and 4,500,000 tons, is exceptionally large—the third largest in the world—while Denmark’s 800 ships represent 1,500,000 tons. A great part of the fleets of both nations was in foreign ports when the invasion began, and cannot in any case return to their home ports, and, as is now known, most of them have passed into Allied control.