BRITISH LINERS

New Zealand Herald, Volume LXX, Issue 21457, 3 April 1933, Page 6

BRITISH LINERS

PURCHASES BY JAPAN SOLD FOR BREAKING UP WARLIKE USE SUGGESTED Extensive purchases of old . British liners destined for Japan are believed in certain London newspaper circles to be part of a well-prepared plan to use them for warlike purposes in the event of full-scale hostilities in the Far East. The vessels, which are stipulated by the British parties to be used for "scrap" only, may be broken up and their thousands of tons of metal used for the making of guns and shells. It is consideredjfthat, once the ships are handed over to the Japanese and paid for, the Tokio authorities may even decide, in view of the national emergency, to use some of them as troopships. This impression has been heightened by the fact that the chief officer of one of the vessels, the Baltic, has sailed with her, hjfving a threeyear contract to serve the Japaneso Government. ' - Following are the vessels destined for Japanese ports, and the names of the companies under whose flags they sailed for so long:—Baltic (23,88-1 tons), White Star; Megantic (14,878 tons), White Star; Garonia (19,785 Cunard; Arcadian (12,015 tons), R.M.S.P.; Keemun (9075 tons), China Steam Navigation; Macharda (9785 tons), Brocklebank; Malancha (9915 tons), Brocklebank. The Baltic sailed from Liverpool recently as the result of an urgent message. She was, to have remained in Liverpool another fortnight. However, she received secret orders to be fuelled to leave within 48 hours. Her destination was Osaka, the famous Japanese port of war. She left with 15,000 tons of coal to carry her to Japan without weighing anchor at any port of call on the way. All men on board were pledged to secrecy, and all of them were required to be former seamen of the ftoyal Navy. . - _' This splendid ship of 23,000 tons, after 27 years' service on the North Atlantic run, slid gracefully out of her home port, all her lights aglow, to new adventure. She left exactly as she was on her last trip—not a bolt bad been removed. The crew of t / had. the run of a whole ship which had carried 3000 people on many of her voyages. She had been sold as scrap for £20,000. Unostentatiously many other ships had left British shores for the same destination in the previous fortnight. In those cases, too, secret orders had preceded the departure! There were full cargoes of coal for voyages which were planned to. end in Japanese waters. All the ships were instructed to report at Kobe not later than April 29. The prices paid for these~ships have averaged £1 a ton. - The Caronia recently left the shipbreaking yard of Messrs. Hughes Bolckow, at Blvth, Northumberland, for Yokohama. The*vessel was renamed the Taisciy Maru before leaving Britain, and left with a Japanese crew.. The Japanese flag flew from her masthead. A few days before the Caronia was due to leave Blyth four of her dynamos were damaged by sulphuric being poured into them by some unknown person. The dynamos were removed to Newcastle for repair.