SINKING OF SHIPS

Waikato Times, Volume 125, Issue 20919, 26 September 1939, Page 8

SINKING OF SHIPS

STRONG PROTEST BY NEUTRALS SWEDEN AND FINLAND WIDER U-BOAT CAMPAIGN (United Press Assn. —Elec. TeL Copyright) (Received Sept. 26, 11 a.m.) STOCKHOLM, Sept. 25 Sweden is concerned at the sinking by a German submarine of two Finnish pulp ships, both bound for England. One, the Martti Ragnar, of 2262 tons, was sunk off Norway, and the other, the Walma, of 1361 tons, was sunk off Smorgen. The Stockholm correspondent of the Times points out that these are the first neutral ships to be sunk, and indicates that Germany has widened the U-boat campaign, in the hope of cutting off ail British supplies. The captain of the Walma protested on the ground that cellulose has not been proclaimed contraband. The U-boat commander replied: “The British make gunpowder of it,” and proceeded to sink the ship with dynamite, explaining that torpedoes were too valuable to waste on small vessels. Taken in conjunction with the sinking of the Gertrude Bratt, Sweden believes that Germany is bent on stopping all trade to Britain, despite assurances in respect to the right of neutrals. German comment on the Swedish and Finnish ships is that if neutrals want to complain they can do so before the courts in Hamburg. It added that if the commander of the U-boat had not sunk the ships he would have been court-martialled, as cellulose might have killed thousands of Germans. £ Sinking in Last War Sinking by German submarines of Swedish and Finnish merchantmen recalls similar sinkings of neutral shipping in the last war, when the Central Powers sank about 1700 neutral ships. It was then sought to justify these actions on the ground that the cargoes carried by these vessels were contraband and that to have taken them to a German port in order to bring them before the Prize Court would have endangered the submarines. In general, the rules of international law about the seizure of a neutral ship carrying contraband are quite plain. Belligerent vessels may search her and if there is good reason to think that the cargo includes certain contraband they may take her to a port for judgment. According to the British rule if the captain cannot take her to port he must abandon her.