Evening star., 1940-02-18
Alfmark Case Seen
Step 10 Cut Nazis'
Neutral SuppIyLine
British Reported Losing
Patience Over Use of
Norwoy's Waters
BY ANDRUE BERDING,
Associated Press Stan Writer.

Associated Press Stan writer.
The Altmark incident marks the
first move by Great Britain toward
closing Germany's supply chute"
running through Norwegian terri
torial waters, informed observers
here predicted.
Information reaching here from
London in recent weeks has been to
the effect the British are losing
patience over what they say is the
use of Norway's territorial waters
by Germany as channel for sup
plies, and to be seriously consider
Ing measures to restrict such use.
The British are said to know Of
scores of ships which have brought
supplies to Germany from Russia
and Scandinavian countries by hug
ging the coastline of Norway within
the 3-mile limit. If the ships come
from Russia, they may start at
MurmanSk, cross the lower Arctic
Ocean and stand in close to the
Norwegian coast from North Cape
on down. They continue into the
Skagerrak, or slip across during the
night to Denmark and then on to
Bremen or Hamburg.
Route of Bremen's Return.
1t was in this way that the trans
Atlantic liner Bremen got back to
Germany after it's dash across the
Atlantic from New York to Muir
mansk.
It was also in this way that the
Germans had hoped to bring the
American freighter City of Flint to
Germany. The prize crew placed
aboard the ship took it first to Muir
mansk and then piloted it along the
Norwegian coast until it reached
the southern part of Norway. At
Haugesund, however, it put into
port and the Norwegians interned
the German prize crew and re-
leased the ship to the American
crew.
The British are reported to be
much more concerned about the Nor
wegian supply channel" now than
they were in the World War, because
Russia then was an enemy of Ger
many and was not sending her
supplies.
Experts in international law here
are uncertain as to what argument
under law Britain could offer for
closing this channel. International
law says merchant ships, even of a
belligerent, are permitted innocent
passage" through territorial waters.
They are not sure, however,
whether, in these days of economic
warfare, continued traffic of mer-
chant ships supplying beleaguered
country can be construed as "inno-
cent passage"
Britain May Urge Norway to Act.
Britain, they believe. might call
on Norway to take some action to
halt the traffic, failing which Britain
might send destroyers or submarines
into the territorial waters to stop
ships known to be carrying supplies
to Germany.
Considering the question of
whether Norway herself would take
any measures to halt the traffic,
some observers here pointed to the
Hague convention of 1907, which
states that "the neutrality of a
power is not affected by the mere
passage through its territorial waters
of warships or prizes belonging to
belligerents" The Norwegians could
argue that if their neutrality was
not affected by the passage of a
belligerent warship through their
waters, it was much less affected by
the passage of merchantmen car
rying goods to Germany.
The British might reply, however,
that single or a few passages of
such merchantmen through Nor
wegian waters was one thing, and
constant use of the waters as sup
ply channel was another.