S  t  a  t  e  m  e  n  t
	of Captain Fritz B.  G ö t h e s e n   of the Norwegian whale cooker "PELAGOS", captured on 14 January 1941.
	Captain Fritz B.  Göthesen  said the following when questioned by the Prisoner Officer:
	The "PELAGOS" sails on behalf of the Royal Norwegian Government.  Its main representatives are based in London and are called Lorentzen and Ohlsen. The 9,500 tons of whale oil on board belong to the expedition's client, the Royal Norwegian Government. The name of the old shipping company is "Bruno von der Lippe."
	During the summer months, the "PELAGOS" is based in Halifax, while the catching boats stay in South Africa (Walfish Bay and Simonstown).  The "PELAGOS" voyage went from Halifax via Curacao, where they took on oil, and Montevideo to the Antarctic catching grounds. They left Montevideo on November 10, 1940. The departure of the three Norwegian catching expeditions, "PELAGOS", "OLE WEGGER," and "THORSHAMMER," from Halifax had been announced on the local radio.
	"PELAGOS" was unarmed. When intercepted by the German warship, no radio communications were made. The warship was reported to the Captain a quarter of an hour before the Morse call as a dimmed vessel.  He was in bed at the time. He was aware that it could only be an English or German warship. When he saw the outline of a cargo steamer, he was convinced it was a German auxiliary cruiser.
	When asked about other whaling fleets hunting nearby, Göthesen refused to comment. He claimed not to have had any contact with English whalers. He was convinced that the English were all armed, but he was unaware of the type of weaponry.
	With the exception of three Swedes, his crew of 300 men (including 91 men from seven fishing boats) consists of Norwegians, most of whom were already on board "PELAGOS" last year. None of them have been to Norway since the occupation.  He had no previous experience of war. The instructions issued by the British Admiralty had to be followed, otherwise the insurance sum would not be paid out in the event of total loss or accident.
	They were forced to conduct voice communications with the seven catching boats, as they had to travel a wide area to find favorable catching grounds. He estimated the hearing range of the voice communications traffic to be about 1,000 nautical miles.

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	The fishing expedition he leads moved from the 10°W to the 10°E and back, always close to the pack ice. limit.  The previous catch results (9500 tons whale oil in half season 564 whales) could be described as pretty good.  He killed the most whales in the area where he was captured. They intend to sell their whale oil to tankers, and Göthesen agreed to continue processing the whales and bring the ship home in exchange for payment.
	About warship movements, troop shipments from Canada to the USA, deserted Göthesen allegedly has nothing to say.
	Ltn.z.See der Reserve and Prisoner Officer