ON THE SEA.

Taranaki Daily News, 16 October 1915, Page 5

ON THE SEA.

IN THE BALTIC. BRITISH SUBMARINES AT LARGE. GIVE GERMANS SOME OF THEIR OWN MEDICINE. Received Oct. 15, 8.45 p.m. Copenhagen, Oct. 15. The success of the British submarines in the Baltic overshadows even the news from the Balkans.

A German captain states that he saw three steamers sunk on Monday. After hearing an explosion, he found wreckage and lifeboats bottom upwards. Then, steering east, he saw another vessel disappear, four hundred yards awtiy. Later in the evening he heard a terrific explosion and a third vessel's lights were extinguished.

The tables are now turned on the Germans, in waters where hitherto they were unchallenged. Neutral ships are jnot molested, but an effective German isolation is resulting. The only losses reported are those where the crews land in Sweden; nothing is said in cases where the crews are landing in Germany.-

THE WEEK'S SHIPPING. Received Oct. 15, 8.45 p.m. London, Oct. 15. For the week ended October 13 arrivals and departures totalled 1501, whereof four vessels, aggregating 15,464 toss, were sunk.

BULGARIA'S NAVAL BASE. Varna, Bulgaria's naval base on ttie Black Sea, which, was reported last week to have been 'bombarded by Russian warships, and where, according to yesterday's cablegrams, anti-war demonstrations have taken place, has seen a great deal of war in the last 100 years. It was occupied by the Russians in 1828, and in the Crimean war it was a base for the allied operations against Russia. In the First Balkan War of 1912-13 the Turkish fleet bombarded it, throwing 100 shells into the town, but doing little damage. The Turkish Navy set up a form of blockade of the coast and shelled several places, but apparently only one attempt at landing was made, the boats not reaching the shore. Bulgaria's mosquito navy showed considerable pluck in meeting Turkish cruisers. Four torpedoboats engaged two cruisers on one occasion, and a torpedo was successfully fired at the Hamidieh, which reached Constantinple with her forepart almost level with the water. There is a mining depot as well as a naval school and an arsenal at Varna, which is about 250 miles from Odessa and about 15 miles south of the Roumanian frontier. It was lately reported that the defences of the port were being strengthened by the mounting of long range guns. Burgas, the other important Bulgarian harbor, has a less imposing situation for its town, because it is built on a low foreland, whereas Varna is on the side of a hill, but Burga,s has a more modern harbor. Varna is the most important elf)}", but Burgas handles a greater volume of traffic in normal years.