Japan was interested in exchanging military technology with Germany, the Japanese submarine I-30 initiated the submerged transport of strategic materials in mid-1942 by delivering 1500 kg of mica and 660 kg of shellac.[5][6] Japanese submarines designed for the vast distances of the Pacific were more capable transports than the compact German U-boats which were designed for operations around coastal Europe; but large Italian submarines had proved ineffective for convoy attacks. The Italian Royal Navy (Regia Marina) converted seven Italian submarines operating from BETASOM into "transport submarines" in order to exchange rare or irreplaceable trade goods with Japan. They were: The Bagnolin, the Barbarigo, the Cappellini (renamed Aquilla III in May 1943), the Finzi, the Giuliani, the Tazzoli and the Torelli.[7]