On the 12th Submarine E 17 was sent into the Kattegat to reconnoitre and ascertain whether any German trawlers or other vessels were working there. She returned on the 19th and reported in the negative. On the night of the 15th–16th the s.s. _Kristianiafiord_, of the Norwegian-American line, a ship which had been endeavouring on other occasions to evade the blockading squadron, was intercepted by the _Teutonic_ in high latitudes; she was steaming fast without lights, and was sent to Kirkwall for examination. In this and in other similar cases the ships ran great risk of being mistaken for enemy vessels and sunk, since the methods employed by the Germans made it very difficult to abstain from opening fire on vessels without running the serious danger of our own ships being sunk by surprise attack. In the case of a ship carrying a large number of passengers, like the _Kristianiafiord_, the risk taken was very great and could not be justified. On November 16th the 7th Cruiser Squadron, without the _Donegal_, but accompanied by the _Liverpool_ and one armed boarding-steamer, left Scapa to patrol an area north of the Shetlands and Faroe Islands, with a view to intercepting possible raiders or other vessels. At noon on the 18th a report reached me that an enemy three-funnelled cruiser had been seen on the 17th to pass through the Danish Sound going north. The possible objectives of this vessel, if the report were true, appeared to be either mine-laying off our bases or an attempt to interfere with the White Sea traffic, the Admiralty having informed me on the 16th that large consignments of arms and ammunition would be passing from France to the White Sea during November and December. In view of the fact that the news had reached me too late to intercept this vessel in southern waters, the dispositions made were as follows: The _Donegal_, which had left Scapa on the 17th to cruise along the trade route to the White Sea, was directed to rendezvous with the _Orcoma_ (a ship of the 10th Cruiser Squadron on patrol off the Norwegian coast), and to patrol the parallel of Lat. 66 N. between the meridians of 5.30 E. and 7.30 E. The 2nd Light Cruiser Squadron sailed from Scapa for a position Lat. 63 N., Long. 4 E., there to meet the 7th Cruiser Squadron, already at sea. Both squadrons, widely spread, were to sweep to the northward along the Norwegian coast, as far as the Rost Islands, and to cruise to the westward of the Lofoten Islands during daylight of the 20th, then returning to their base. The 2nd Cruiser Squadron also left Scapa and proceeded north, the ships spread to cover a wide area to the westward of the 7th Cruiser Squadron, in order to protect the Archangel trade. The 4th Light Cruiser Squadron also left Scapa on the 18th to sweep to the eastward, with orders to return to Cromarty on the 19th.