ECONOMIC WARFARE

Timaru Herald, Volume CXLVIII, Issue 21575, 10 February 1940, Page 14

ECONOMIC WARFARE

BLOCKADE OF GERMANY

One of the important factors in the blockade of Germany is the contraband control system which was instituted by Great Britain within a few hours of the outbreak of war. This

system has admittedly imposed inconvenience upon neutral shipping, but this has been progressively reduced owing partly to the perfecting of organisation and partly to increasing co-operation on the part of neutral merchant shipping interests. In the third week of December. 1939. there were about 20 more ships held up by the German contraband control organisation than were held up at the British contraband control stations. The achievements of the British contraband control organisation is shown by the following statistics:— From September 3. 1939. to December 30, 1939, the cargoes destined for Germany which had been seized in prize as the result of the British contraband control organisation amounted to 538,100 tons. Of this total 130,000 tons was represented by fuel oil and petroleum products—one of the chief sinews of modern war. In the same period the cargoes destined for Great Britain in British ships which were lost amounted to 325,800 tons. Of this total 73,700 tons represented a loss of oil fuel and petroleum products. Thus in nearly four months of war there was a net gain to Great Britain, at the expense of Germany, of 212,300 tons of contraband cargoes, of which 56,500 Lons was oil fuel and petroleum products. A large proportion of the remainder of this net gain to Great Britain consisted of valuable ores and other materials essential for armaments manufacture. The above refers to the results obtained by the British contraband control organisation. France has also stopped many valuable cargoes from reaching Germany.