859.85/758
The Danish Legation to the Department of State
J. No. 60.M.8/10
In his note to the Secretary of State of May 22, 1941, the Danish Minister declared that he did not intend to lodge a protest against the expected requisition of Danish ships as he was instructed to do by Copenhagen, but that he regarded the requisition as the inevitable and sole means of solving an otherwise insolvable problem created by circumstances beyond the control of the Danish and American Governments and that it was his earnest desire to cooperate most fully and frankly with the American authorities in order to settle, as quickly and as harmoniously as possible, the various questions necessarily arising in connection with the impending transfer of Danish ships in United States ports to the American flag.
In line with these statements, and in conformity with the wishes of the American Government, every effort has been made since then by the Legation, by the various Danish Consulates in the United States, and the representatives of Danish shipowners in this country, to induce Danish crews to continue to serve on the requisitioned Danish ships. This has been done in spite of the fact that these efforts were rendered much more difficult when it became known that most of the ships, against previous expectations, were to sail, not under the United States flag, but the Panama flag, and in spite of the fact that most of the questions relating to the Danish crews were settled only after much delay and often in a way hardly satisfactory from the Danish point of view. The difficulties encountered have mainly centered around the following points:
The Flag—It has been very difficult to explain to the Danish sailors the necessity of transferring the Danish ships to the Panama Flag instead of the United States Flag. This is not only a question of pride, but the sailors feel that they would be more safe on a ship under the United States Flag. It has been argued that the S/S Sessa might not have been sunk,49 had the flag been the Stars and Stripes.
When the Maritime Commission recently decided to transfer some of the ships to the United States Flag, great resentment was caused among the Danish sailors when it was disclosed that the Maritime Commission would only employ American sailors on these ships. This resentment was increased by the fact that three of the ships to be transferred to the United States Flag, were moved from the Philippine Islands by the Danish crew on the very strong advice of the Danish Legation given at the request of the Maritime Commission. The Captain [Page 85] of one of the ships has now informed the Legation that the Commission’s action in replacing the Danish crew is contrary to the promises and guarantees given the crews in Manila prior to the voyage of the ships.
Another ship, the African Reefer has recently arrived from Madeira. The crew, exposing their families in Denmark to reprisals, took the initiative to undertake this risky voyage on the ship in order that the American Government would be in position to requisition the ship. They have now been advised that an American crew will probably take the ship over. This naturally has created great bitterness and disappointment among the sailors.
Wages—The sailors find it difficult to understand why they are to receive lower wages than American sailors considering that they are just as capable.
It is a fact that some of the wages now offered, especially to the officers, are lower than the corresponding Danish wages before the occupation of Denmark.
A number of the sailors agreed to undertake voyages, especially to Iceland and Greenland, although the Maritime Commission was unable to inform them of the definite conditions with regard to wages, etc. They got the impression that the temporary wages would probably be increased when they returned and that the increase would be retroactive. When they returned they found that the wages, instead of having been increased, had been decreased.
Protection of Ships—Some of the sailors feel that the ships should in some way be armed and that the crew should be provided with revolvers. The requisitioned ship, M/S Norden returned recently from a voyage to Lisbon. On the voyage a life-boat with twenty-one armed German sailors from a scuttled German ship was encountered.
Names of Ships—So far as the Legation is informed, the names of most of the requisitioned ships have not yet been changed in spite of the fact that the chairman of the Maritime Commission stated that would be done in his letter to the Danish captains, partly published in the press, which letter, incidentally, most captains never received.
Back Wages, etc.—Considerable disappointment has been caused because the back wages, (that is, wages due to the Danish sailors for the time previous to the requisitioning of the ships), which wages the Maritime Commission long ago promised to pay, in many, if not in most cases, have not yet been paid. In some cases the sailors have not even received the wages for the time from the requisitioning of the ships to the allocation to American Companies.
Circular Letter—The circular letter to the Danish sailors was only sent out after a delay of more than two months. The letter does not deal with all the questions which previously have been raised by the [Page 86] Danish sailors. Although the sailors, for instance, were led to believe that the circular letter would contain a promise that a sailor could stay thirty days in an American port, if he wished to change from one ship to another, the question of the right of the sailors to stay for a short time in American ports has not been dealt with in the circular letter. Furthermore, the circular letter has given rise to a number of new questions which so far have not been answered.
It is extremely difficult for the Danish Minister, with any hope of success, to continue his endeavour to induce the Danish crews to serve on the requisitioned Danish ships, unless the various problems are met in a manner more satisfactory to the crews than hitherto has been the case.
- S. S. Sessa, under Panamanian flag, torpedoed near Iceland on August 17, 1941, presumably by the Germans.↩