300.115(39)/260: Telegram
The Consul General at Hamburg (Keblinger) to the Secretary of State
[Received 10:15 p.m.]
224. There are at present more than 125 vessels detained in German ports by German prize control authorities. Of these about 40 are Swedish, 12 Danish, 5 Norwegian, 40 Finnish, 14 Estonian and 14 Latvian. According to Prize Commissioner’s office these comprise practically all neutral ships now leaving Baltic or Scandinavian ports carrying goods on German contraband list. Approximately 46 are bound for Holland, 40 for Belgium and 29 for the United States. Many of these vessels have been detained for a period of 2 weeks to 1 month. The loss to neutral shipowners may be judged by the fact that demurrage on an average merchantman of 1500 tons in the port of Hamburg amounts to about $300 per day payable only in foreign currency.
Approximately 2 weeks ago the Prize Commissioner informed neutral Consuls of the imposition of new conditions for the release of neutral vessels carrying goods listed as contraband detained by prize control authorities. These conditions include (1) governmental guarantees from countries of destination that the cargoes are for domestic consumption, (2) governmental guarantees that they are not for re-exporting in finished or unfinished form, (3) the names of the processors, (4) assurances from the processors that they will not sell the goods except to persons guaranteeing not to resell to enemy countries, and (5) governmental guarantees from the countries of destination that like or smaller quantities of the same product as the released cargoes will not be exported in place of the latter to enemy countries from stocks on hand in the countries of destination.
According to information received by the Embassy at Berlin from the Foreign Office the above conditions do not apply to the 30 vessels bound for the United States. They are, however, being applied rigorously in case of European countries. The Consuls General of Baltic, Scandinavian, and channel countries state that their Governments have not yet been able to reach an agreement with the Foreign Office regarding the method of fulfillment of the new requirements. Only in exceptional cases have steamers been set free since the new conditions went into effect. The Consul General of the Netherlands states that although his Government has gone far toward meeting the new conditions he has been able to obtain the release of only 2 ships out of 46 bound for Holland in contrast with release within 3 or 4 days of vessels detained under the old conditions. The Consuls General of Norway and Finland have been unable to effect release of any vessels. [Page 846] Two Estonian vessels and one Latvian have been freed since November 20. The Swedish Consul General informs me that of 58 detained Swedish vessels or cargoes, only 5 have been released in the past 2 weeks. Among those still detained are 8 sailing in ballast to England to fetch coal for Swedish consumption. He adds that his Minister at Berlin was informed by an official of the Foreign Office that it would be probably impossible satisfactorily to fulfill the new conditions in cases of shipments to Holland or Belgium and that in consequence Swedish exporters would do well to seek markets elsewhere.
The prize office alleges that the new conditions are reprisals against British seizures of German exports. However the new German conditions were first made known November 20 one day before the announcement of the British intention to seize German exports.16 The legal adviser of the prize office justifies the new requirements on the ground that any suspicion, no matter how slight that cargoes of goods on contraband list detained are bound directly or indirectly for enemy countries places on neutrals burden of proof of non-enemy destination. In the case of Swedish ships sailing in ballast to England he maintains that such seizures may be justified under article No. 23, paragraph 2, or article 38, paragraph 3, the Prize Law of 1939. However, he states that under the present prize law the legal position of the prize office is not too secure and indicates that the law may shortly be amended to remedy this situation.
Repeated to Berlin by mail.