IOR/R/15/2/686

The file comprises communications and correspondence relating to the restrictions and orders imposed by the British Government on foreign vessels, and in particular those regarded as neutral or ‘enemy’ during wartime. The papers chiefly relate to Danish and Norwegian vessels, prompted by the German invasion of Norway and the surrender of Denmark to Germany in April 1940, and French vessels in the wake of the signing of the Franco-German Armistice on 22 June 1940, and Britain’s destruction of the French fleet at El Marsa el Kebir, Algeria, on 3 July 1940. Bahrain’s designation as an Allied port meant that the movement and detention of ships at Bahrain was closely monitored by naval authorities in the region.

The file includes:

• orders and instructions sent by the Political Agent at Bahrain, Hugh Weightman, to Bahrain’s shipping agents and Passport Office, dated 13 April 1940, concerning checks on Danish and Norwegian vessels at Bahrain, and additional orders prohibiting the use of wireless signals by vessels in Bahrain harbour (ff 3-11, ff 200-203);
• naval orders sent by telegram by senior naval officials, including the Commander-in-Chief of the East Indies Station, Admiral Sir Ralph Leatham, and the Senior Naval Officer in the Persian Gulf (SNOPG), Admiral Cosmo Moray Graham, between April and May 1940, chiefly relating to: orders for Norwegian and Danish shipping; the use of Bahrain and Basra as Allied ports for the detention of Norwegian and Danish vessels; the tracking of movements of Norwegian vessels; armed guards for Norwegian vessels; the Norwegian tanker Eleonora Maersk, a Norwegian-registered vessel which sailed to Bahrain to place itself under British protection, against the orders of its New York-based owners (ff 16-115);
• a series of telegrams (ciphered and deciphered) sent by the Ambassador at the British Legation in Tehran, Sir Reader Bullard, to the British Consul at Bushire, dated late April 1940, relating to: telegraphic communications; orders for Norwegian vessels; treatment of Danish vessels flying under the Danish flag (ff 128-148);
• correspondence dated June 1940, relating to restrictions on vessels bound for France or French possessions (ff 157-165), and on 3 July 1940, the detention of all French vessels in British ports (ff 170-171);
• an undated memorandum from the Government of India, with an enclosed schedule outlining the extent to which communication of shipping information has been authorised by the Government of India, including: dates of sailing and arrival; Lloyds shipping lists; ships’ documents and bills of lading; details of loading; transportation of troops, military stores (ff 195-199).