Portuguese cabinet allowed Portuguese authorities and shipping companies to use Portuguese navy transports according to the Dutch newspaper De Tijd dated 5 February 1942

An item dated Lisbon 4 February reported that the Portuguese department of navy was allowed by the cabinet to make available her transports to other authorities or Portuguese shipping companies to solve the lacking of cargo capacity. According to tiding was the naval transport Gil James the first ship which was (temporarily) handed over, she was to be used for cable laying.