811.20 Defense (M)/2469: Telegram
The Ambassador in Turkey (MacMurray) to the Secretary of State
[Received June 26—11:15 a.m.]
218. Your 95, June 20. The question of the possibility of using Turkish ships to transport chrome from Fethiye (I assume that this [Page 939] port is meant in view of previous telegrams) to Red Sea ports for transshipment to the American vessels transporting goods for Turkey has been discussed informally at the Foreign Office. The competent officials are of the opinion that the utilization of Turkish vessels for this purpose is not feasible because in view of the location Fethiye any vessel carrying British-owned chrome would almost certainly be captured or sunk by Axis warships. Furthermore, they stated that if chrome was documented as having been purchased by the United States the Turkish Government would be placed in an embarrassing position in view of the fact that it has refused to sell chrome to Germany on the ground that all Turkish chrome had been purchased by Great Britain. (The British Commercial Attaché23a in a conversation relative to this point, pointed out that the chrome at Fethiye could be sold by the British Government to the American Government f. o. b. Fethiye and he did not see how the Turkish Government would be involved inasmuch as the American Government would have acquired the ore from the British Government.) The Turkish officials believe that the safest way to transport chrome at Fethiye to the United States would be by shipment on Turkish vessels to Mersin or Alexandretta for transshipment to vessels sailing from these ports.
The British Commercial Attaché also believes that this would probably be the best way to handle the chrome at the port in question. While no formal reply has been made to the proposal presented to the Turkish Government by the British Government, referred to in your section 2, Number 72, May 17, 4 p.m.,24 or to the representations of the Embassy in support of this proposal the Foreign Office states that it has been decided that no Turkish vessels can be used for the transportation of chrome from Fethiye for transshipment to British or British controlled ships at Haifa or Port Said because the Turkish Government considers that any Turkish vessels engaged in such traffic would be captured or sunk by Axis vessels. The Embassy gathers that the British Embassy considers that the Turkish position is well taken.
The Embassy is in accordance with the opinion that the safest way to obtain the chrome at Fethiye under present conditions in the Eastern Mediterranean would be by shipment on Turkish vessels to Mersin or Alexandretta.