Office of the Historian

File No. 658.119/184

The Ambassador in Great Britain ( Page) to the Secretary of State

[Telegram]
London, January 29, 1918, 8 p.m.
[Received January 30, 3.49 a.m.]

8430. War Trade Board [from Sheldon]:

No. 81. The following is the text of the modus vivendi signed today by Wallenberg, Count Wrangel, the Swedish Minister, Leverton Harris and myself.

1.
The steamships Jemtland and Österland and their cargoes shall be allowed to proceed to Sweden without hindrance and shall be granted necessary bunker facilities at Gibraltar and if desired license will be given for an approved Swedish vessel to load coal at a British port to an approved firm of coal importers at Las Palmas for bunkering either of these vessels.
2.
25,000 tons of phosphate rock shall be permitted to be exported immediately from United States to Sweden.
3.
Permission shall be given to export from United States to Sweden 10,000 tons of illuminating oil, exclusive of 5,500 tons to be exported from United States to Sweden in connection with the Christmas ships, and 5,000 tons of fuel oil.
4.
All reasonable facilities for bunkering and visitation outside blockade zone will be given for the shipping to Sweden from Buenos Aires of (a) 15,000 tons of maize, (b) 3,000 tons of oil cake.
5.
Permission shall be given for the export to Sweden of 25,000 bags of coffee from Great Britain in addition to 22,000 bags now in the course of being released.
6.
All dried fruit now detained in Denmark and Norway and cocoa detained in Denmark shall be released for importation into Sweden.
7.
Sanction shall be granted for the export from Switzerland to Sweden of 4,000 cubic meters of cork bricks acquired by Sweden for refrigerating purposes but no articles refrigerated with the aid thereof shall be exported from Sweden without the consent of the Allies.
8.
The Swedish Government guarantee that neither the above-mentioned articles when imported nor any products thereof will be exported from Sweden and that no articles similar thereto will be exported from Sweden during three months from the arrival in Sweden of the articles imported under this arrangement.
9.
It is understood that facilities for the importation and release of the above-mentioned steamers and goods will be granted without delay subject to clause 8 of the provisional Swedish tonnage arrangement as stated below.
10.
Should the Swedish Government desire to utilize Swedish vessels now lying in North or South American ports which are subject to clause 3 of the provisional tonnage arrangement below to transport the commodities mentioned above, permission to do so will be granted provided an equivalent amount of Swedish tonnage now in Sweden shall be simultaneously dispatched from Sweden to United States ports. In the event of any such vessels having left Sweden failing to arrive, the vessel released from the United States in anticipation of her arrival will be required to return after discharged. Vessels arriving in United States ports under this arrangement shall be subject to the provisions of clause 3 of the provisional Swedish tonnage agreement below unless required for the transport of cargo to Sweden under this agreement, in which case permission will be granted for their return to Sweden on the terms stated in the first sentence of this clause.
11.
The Swedish Government agree to the terms of the provisional Swedish tonnage arrangement attached hereto which shall form part of this agreement.
12.
The steamships Jemtland and Österland after discharging in Sweden shall proceed to the United States to be chartered to the United States Shipping Board either on three months’ time-charter or round voyages excluding Europe and the Atlantic islands.

Provisional Swedish Tonnage Arrangement

Pending the termination of the present negotiations the Swedish Government will—

  • 1. Permit all Swedish shipowners to charter their ships to the Commission for Relief in Belgium without imposing any conditions.
  • 2. Grant licenses for all Swedish ships now idle in Allied European ports to be chartered for the period of three months for employment in the war zone. A list of these ships will be drawn up and agreed upon.
  • 3. Grant licenses for all Swedish ships idle in American, North and South, ports for a period of four months for employment in Allied interests outside European waters subject to the reservation [Page 1206] contained in clause 10 above. A list of these ships will be drawn up and agreed upon.
  • [4. Permit all Swedish ships now engaged in trades of interest to the Allies to continue such trades. A list of these ships will be drawn up and agreed upon.] Besides ships on time charter to the Allies, this list will include vessels now trading to or from Allied ports and vessels at present trading between Sweden and Allied countries in Europe as well as vessels at present chartered to the Commission for Belief in Belgium.
  • 5. As regards Swedish ships now lying idle in Swedish ports, the Swedish Government will grant licenses for such vessels to resume trading voyage by voyage pending the conclusion of a general agreement and will not obstruct direct negotiations between the Allies and Swedish shipowners for this purpose provided that (a) in each separate case the Swedish Government are satisfied that the vessel is not actually required for the service of Sweden, (b) in each separate case before a license is granted a formal assurance shall be given on behalf of the Allied Governments and the United States Government that every facility including a sufficient supply of bunker coals [to be] granted at a port outside the danger zone, etc., will be allowed to enable the vessel concerned to return to a Swedish port in ballast if desired on the completion of the voyage for which it has been chartered. No conditions whatsoever will be exacted in regard to the future employment or movements of such vessels. No cargo of any description will be loaded on such vessels without previous approval of the Allied Governments concerned.
  • 6. The rates for Swedish vessels time-chartered for trading in the danger zone under this agreement are as follows: up to 500 tons, 58s. per ton dead weight per month; 1,000 to 2,300 tons, 49s. per ton dead weight per month; 2,300 to 4,000 tons, 46s. 6d. per ton dead weight per month; 4,000 to 6,000 tons, 43s. 6d. per ton dead weight per month; over 6,000 tons, 41s. 6d. per ton dead weight per month. Charters on the usual Inter-Allied Chartering Executive terms. Charterers will be responsible for war risk on the following values: steamers under 10 years old, £50 per ton dead weight; steamers 10 to 30 years old, £40 per ton dead weight; steamers over 30 years old, £35 per ton dead weight. Recognizing that there may be exchange difficulties during the period of the provisional arrangement, if an owner wishes to effect some further insurance the charterers will be prepared to insure for the three months such further amount at the rate of 4 per cent per month provided the amount so insured shall in no case exceed 25 per cent of the value of the ship as defined above.
  • 7. Charterers shall have the liberty to place one or more representatives on board any ship chartered under this agreement for the purpose of safeguarding their interest and assisting the master in accordance with the directions of the competent authority.
  • 8. The minimum quantity of Swedish tonnage to be chartered for Allied service in war zone under this provisional arrangement is 100,000 tons dead weight, of which 80,000 tons is to be delivered immediately, and 20,000 tons within six weeks from date of agreement. The charters for the whole 100,000 tons are to be signed before any of the proposed concessions are made to Sweden.
  • 9. One-half of all the charters under this agreement will be effected with the United States Shipping Board and one-half with firms nominated by His Majesty’s Government.

January 29, 1918.

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