Mountbatten May Arrange For Dutch Ships To Sail

Northern Advocate, 30 March 1946, Page 5

Mountbatten May Arrange For Dutch Ships To Sail

(Rec. 1 p.m.) SYDNEY This Dry

Dutch ships which have been held up in Australia for seven months because of the watersiders’ sympathy with Indonesians may sail soon as a result of intervention by Lord Louis Mountbatten soon after he arrived in Sydney yesterday.

As a result of suggestions made while he was in Canberra Admiral Mountbatten held a hurriedly arranged meeting yesterday afternoon with the Minister of Supply and Shipping (Senator Ashley) and union and shipping representatives. PULLED NO PUNCHES

A union official said Lord Louis had “pulled no punches.” He had told them that the watersiders’ ban was ineffective because, while the ships were tied up in Australia, British ships were

ceing diverted to take the necessary supplies to Indonesia. If the Dutch ships could not be used on the Australian run it would be necessary to move ships where they could be used. Admiral Mounfbatten gave his personal assurance that material carried in the ships would be equitably distributed. Senator Ashley said later that suggestions made, and favourably received by trade union representatives, may be responsible for the release of idle tonnage in the near future. At Fremantle yesterday Dutch naval , ratings were used to load a Dutch i I ship. This followed the refusal of the V Fremantle Lumpers’ Union to-work on the ship. There were no incidents.