An item reported that the extra ordinary need for transports towards East Africa forced again Italian shipping companies to with draw ships from their regular lines to be available for their new duty namely transporting troops and war stores.(1) The Liguria and the Lombardia which were recently converted into transports were to depart begin September towards Africa. The two transports Argentina and the Duca degli Abruzzi arrived with 3,000 postal bags at Naples coming from Africa. In this harbour were four transports lying for departure. Semi official sources at Rome confirmed in the meantime that Italian shipping companies bought ships abroad. Despite the large reducing of the Italian shipping lines was it needed to buy new ships for to speed up the transport of troops and war stores towards the Italian colonies.
Note
1. In 1936 became Eritrea, Ethiopia and Italian Somaliland part of the Italian province Italian East Africa or Africa Orientale Italiana. The Ethiopian Empire (also referred to as Abyssinia) was just before captured by Italy during the Second Italo-Abyssinian War between October 1935 and May 1936. Eritrea was since 1 January 1890 an Italian colony after the Italian invasion in Ethiopia in which Italy was defeated.
