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22. Owing to two convoys being delayed by the weather, imports into Great Britain by ships in convoy during the week ending the 25th January totalled only 474,190 tons compared with 764,232 tons during the previous seven days and an average of 668,130 tons for the previous ten weeks. Oil imports, in nine tankers, totalled 97,105 tons compared with 179,075 tons during the week ending the 18th January. Mineral imports were 155,229 tons, of which 120,481 tons were steel, scrap iron, pig iron, and iron ore. The corresponding figures for the previous seven days were 285,439 tons and 189,678 tons. Timber imports were 29,319 tons and cereal imports 73,321 tons, eight ships being fully laden with grain. Other food imports were 74,104 tons. of which 22,999 tons were sugar and molasses. Among the imports were satisfactory quantities of aircraft, lorries and other war material.

British Minelaying.

23. No minelaying has been undertaken in the past week except for 50 mines laid by H.M. Submarine Cachalot off the Norwegian Coast to the North of Stadtlandet on the 27th January.

Enemy Minelaying and British Minesweeping.

24. Minelaying enemy aircraft have not been very active this week, probably owing to the weather. They were reported off Milford Haven on the night of the 22nd/23rd January, in the upper Bristol Channel on the evening of the 28th January, and over the Thames Estuary towards the end of the week.

Four ships, including two LL Trawlers, have been sunk by mine, and three, including one LL Trawler, have been damaged. Two were sunk in the Humber, two in the Thames Estuary, two were beached in the Bristol Channel and one was damaged off Milford Haven.

Twenty-two magnetic or acoustic mines have been detonated in the Humber during the week. These were probably laid during the nights of the 15th and 16th January. Fifteen of the mines were detonated by S.A. Gear, six by L.L. and one by Skid. Eight mines have been detonated off Liverpool, five in the upper Thames Estuary, four off Milford Haven, two in the Tyne, one in the upper Bristol Channel and one off Falmouth.

A considerable number of German conical anti-sweeping explosive containers have been washed ashore in the Aberdeen area. This would seem to indicate that enemy mines had been laid thereabouts, but sweeping has not so far confirmed this.

The mine totals are: contact 795, magnetic 882, acoustic 186.

Mediterranean.

25. In the Mediterranean a small area has been declared dangerous due to enemy mines some twenty-four miles south of Pantellaria. Greek submarines have reported single wires scraping against their hulls, thought to be mine moorings, in half a dozen different positions in the southern Adriatic.

Enemy Merchant Shipping.

German.

26. The S.S. Munsterland, 6,408 tons, speed 12 knots, sailed from Kobe on the 26th January. She has been extensively repaired, and both the upper and lower bridges have been totally enclosed.

The tanker S.S. Charlotte Schliemann, 7,747 tons, is reported to have pro- vided the damaged Italian submarine which went in to Las Palmas with drums of gas oil fuel.

Italian.

27. The S.S. Burma, 2,896 tons, which was in Cadiz, was reported to have been blown ashore near Puerto di Santa Maria on the night of the 21st/22nd January, and was likely to become a total wreck.

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