LOSSES AT SEA

Waikato Times, Volume 126, Issue 21038, 14 February 1940, Page 7

LOSSES AT SEA

MERCHANT SHIPPING

THE LATEST RETURNS SUCCESS OF CONVOYS (Official Wireless) (Received Feb. 14, 11.30 a.m.) RUGBY, Feb. 13 Merchant shipping losses by enemy action for the week ended at midnight on February 11 were four British vessels, of 1421 tons; the Burgerdijk (Dutch), 6853 tons; and the Orania (Swedish), 1854 tons. In addition the Voreda, a tanker, which was not announced as having been sunk in last week’s list owing to lack* of definite information, is now stated to have been sunk. The total mercantile marine losses since the outbreak of the war has been estimated by competent naval quarters to have been as follows: — 148 British ships, of 550,569 tons; 14 Allied ships, of 76,689 tons; and 120 neutral ships, of 352,485 tons. Up to February 7 the number of ships escorted in British convoys since ilie beginning of the war was 8284 and the number lost in convoy was 18. Of the lost vessels only two were neutrals and only one of these — the Keramiai (Greek) —was sunk as a result of attack by a U-boat. The U-boat paid the penalty for attacking the convoy, being sunk by the escorting vessels and aircraft. The other neutral loss, which occurred as far back as the first week of December, was due to a mine. The figure of two neutral ships lost in convoy is correct. Earlier reports stated that the number was three. Swedish Steamer Torpedoed A British warship rescued ten survivors of the Swedish steamer Orania, which was torpedoed in the North Sea on Sunday night. She sank in three minutes. The crew of 24 had barely time to scramble into the lifeboats, one of which, with the captain and his wife and a crew a 12, disappeared within half an hour and is still missing. Shelled and Sunk A U-boat shelled and sank the trawler Togimo, and killed one of the crew of eleven. The survivors were adrift for 28 hours in an open boat before a Spanish steamer picked them up and took them to an Eire port. All suffered from exposure. Three were seriously injured. The U-boat gave no warning before shelling. Another Vessel Sunk The Snestad, bound to Oslo from America in ballast, was sunk by a mine or a torpedo. The crew was saved. Recruiting For Naval Patrol Since the war began 10,000 experienced seamen have joined the Royal Naval Patrol Service and recruiting is proceeding at the rate of 300 weekly. It is now stated that the Admiralty will require a further 10,000 men to man the growing fleet of small craft of all types engaged in mine-laying, mine-sweeping, the anti-submarine service and all kinds of patrol work.

CLAIM BY GERMANY WITHIN LEGAL RIGHTS (United Press Assn.—Elec. Tel. Copyright; (Received Feb. 14, 1 p.m.) BERLIN, Feb. 13 It is authoritatively stated that the U-boat was within its legal rights in sinking the Dutch vessel Burgerdijk, because she was proceeding to the British contraband control base. LONDON, Feb. 13 A certain amount of mystery attaches to the sinking of one of three neutral ships announced in today’s weekly list of shipping losses. The Dutch steamer Burgerdijk was on Saturday nearly one hundred miles out in the Atlantic when an S.O.S. was picked up stating that she was sinking as a result of a collision. Early next morning news was received that the crew was safe aboard the Dutch steamer Edam, but the Edam was unable to trace the other ship involved in the supposed collision.

Today the owners of the Burgerdijk announced that the captain reported that the vessel was torpedoed on Saturday. Whether the captain of the U-boat forced the captain of the Burgerdijk to report a collision in order to conceal the presence of the U-boat or whether the report of the collision was due simply to a misreading of the message will be cleared up when the Edam reaches her home port.