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44. A new searched channel has been established at Auckland, and five searched channels have been brought into force on the Australian Station.

45. Minelaying is suspected off Bombay. If there is a minefield it seems probable that it was laid by the raider responsible for the mines laid off the Cape and New Zealand.

British Minelaying.

46.

896 mines have been added to the East Coast Barrier, and aircraft have laid mines in the North-West German estuaries and off the Dutch, Flemish and French coasts during the period under review.

German Merchant Shipping.

47. There is little to report about the movements of German merchant shipping during the past week. Traffic continues in the Baltic and in the Black Sea, and convoys proceed to and from Norway. There is still a concentra- tion of merchant ships, many of them ex-Norwegian, in the Norwegian fjords, approximately as follows:-

6 merchant ships of 2,000-6,000 tons and other smaller vessels at

Stavanger.

6 merchant ships of 1,000-3,000 tons in Bergen Harbour. 2 merchant ships of about 4,000 tons in Mo Fjord.

These ships have been reported by aircraft, and, though the number is probably correct, the size of them may have been over-estimated.

48. A report received, dated the 17th June, stated that there was no room in Dantzig alongside the quays as these were all occupied by German ships. unloading troops and material.

49. Two non-German ships are reported to be sailing under the German flag. One of these is the British tanker Naphtha Shipper, 5,897 tons, which was seized at Hamburg on the outbreak of war. She is now reported to have been renamed the Altengamme and to be at Tallinn. The other is the Latvian Venta, 1,886 tons, which was detained at Hamburg on the 5th January.

50. The Havelland, 6,334 tons, which has been at Mazatlan on the Pacific coast of Mexico since October, is reported to be loading scrap machinery. Apart from this, she shows no sign of activity.

Italian Merchant Shipping.

The five

51. The Asiatic Petroleum Company has instituted proceedings against five Italian ships besides the three mentioned in the report last week. this week consist of three ships in the United States totalling 17,806 tons, and two tankers in Venezuela totalling 11,374 tons. The Conte Biancamano, 23,255 tons, upon which an attachment had been made by the Asiatic Petroleum Company, also has a claim against her by the Royal Netherlands S.S. Company, and the hearing of this latter claim has been fixed for the 6th July. A United States marshal is on board. The ship, which was at Balboa on the Pacific Coast, passed through the Panamá Canal on the 25th June.

52. A reliable but unconfirmed report states that the Conte Verde, 18,765 tons, which is at Shanghai, has been ordered to fit as an armed merchant cruiser.

53. The Caterina Gerolimich, 5,430 tons, was in Dublin on the 19th June and has not yet been reported as sailing.

54. The Esquilino, 8,657 tons, which was seized at Aden, may be manned by a Norwegian crew and used as a hospital ship for evacuating casualties from Aden should the necessity arise.

55. The Rapallo, 5,812 tons, which is at Cartagena, Colombia, is reported to have taken 750 tons of water on board, but to have been refused oil fuel. Six other Italian ships are mentioned as having either arrived in American ports

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