Le Nord : revue internationale des Pays de Nord - 01.06.1939, Page 471
FINLAND’S MARITIME TRADE
461
that the sender’s name was on the British “black list.” Such action,
practised by Great Britain also during the Great War, is con-
trary to the generally approved rules of international law.
German commercial warfare methods have, as remarked,
caused considerably greater inconvenience to Finnish merchant
vessels. Already in the early days of the war German submarines
torpedoed two Finnish merchant vessels laden with cellulose for
the United Kingdom after first seizing the vessels. Fairly satis-
factory regard was paid, it is true, to the safety of the crews,
but in each case they were ordered to leave their ships at such
short notice that the seamen were able to save only a small part
of their personal belongings.
According to Article 73 of the German Prize Regulations
actually in force, neutral merchant vessels found carrying con-
traband may, in exceptional circumstances, be sunk, if the con-
veying of the vessel to the country of the belligerent by which
she was seized, might endanger the safety of the vessel, which
made the seizure, or the success of the military operations in which
the latter is engaged at the time. The seizure of the above men-
tioned Finnish vessels did, as a matter of fact, take place some
distance away from the German coast and to take them to Ger-
many would probably have been a matter of some difficulty.
Nevertheless, as the destruction of neutral vessels in such cases
is permitted, as remarked, only in exceptional circumstances, and
as it has not been established that the submarines effecting the
seizure were, at the time of the sinking, exposed to danger of
any kind from the enemy or engaged simultaneously in any other
military operations, one is inclined to conclude that the above
mentioned German legislation affords no legal justification for
the torpedoing of these merchant ships. In addition, the German
Government had not then clearly announced its intention of treat-
ing cellulose as contraband. On the contrary, statements made by
certain representatives of the German Government had given rise
to the belief in Finland that the raw material in question was not
included in the contraband list.
As regards the general rules of international law, the question
°f contraband and of the rights of belligerents to sink neutral
vessels carrying contraband is still undecided. Many well-known
legal authorities are of opinion that it should not be permissible
to sink neutral vessels on such grounds, and certain countries have
followed this principle in their practice.