857.85/397
Memorandum of Conversation, by the Assistant Secretary of state (Acheson)
| Participants: | The Norwegian Ambassador, |
| Mr. Sunde, of the Norwegian Shipping Mission, | |
| Mr. Acheson. |
The Norwegian Ambassador and Mr. Sunde called at their request. They handed me the attached note14 and briefly explained its contents. It points out, certain outstanding questions in relation to Norwegian shipping and requests that Mr. Sunde be enabled to negotiate solutions of them through the Department of State. Mr. Sunde explained that so many agencies appeared to be involved that it was impossible for the Norwegians to determine themselves who were the responsible authorities, and in any event it seemed proper to them that negotiations should be carried out through this Department. I replied that that principle seemed eminently sound and that from a hasty examination of the note it seemed to me that all but one of the matters involved fell within Mr. Long’s jurisdiction and that it would seem better for him to organize the discussions, with me playing such part as seemed to him desirable in connection with the lend-lease matter discussed below.
Briefly the four principal matters involved, together with Mr. Sunde’s comments on them, are as follows:
- 1.
- The Norwegians wish to establish an American-Norwegian Shipping Committee analogous to the Anglo-Norwegian Shipping Committee. This committee should be consulted regarding the employment of Norwegian tonnage. Mr. Sunde said that he had discussed this matter with Mr. Lewis Douglas and with Mr. Harriman15 in London, both of whom seemed to be receptive to the idea but said that it should be taken up in Washington.
- 2.
- Questions regarding charter provisions relating to charter rates and charter terms for Norwegian ships. Mr. Sunde mentioned in this connection problems which had-arisen regarding certain Norwegian tankers which had been under charter to American oil companies and which had been operating in Western Hemisphere trade. [Page 96] These had been reassigned to the British Ministry of War Transport for trans-Atlantic carriage under arrangements which involved the oil companies, the Norwegian Shipping Mission, the British Ministry of War Transport, and the War Shipping Administration. As a result of these transactions certain mix-ups had occurred which had resulted in the Norwegians’ not receiving any payment on these ships for over a year. This and similar matters should be straightened out.
- 3.
- The protection of established Norwegian lines. Mr. Sunde stated that it had been and would be necessary to transfer certain Norwegian ships from established lines in this hemisphere to war work. He wished to have some understanding reached that the Norwegians should not be in any worse position after the war by reason of having consented to the transfer of these ships than they would have been if the ships had continued to operate on the lines. After some discussion of this point, I gathered that he did not propose that this Government should undertake not to impose legal restrictions upon all foreign shipping or to refrain from subsidizing its own shipping, but merely to place the Norwegian ships in as good a position as though they had continued to operate upon the lines during the war.
- 4.
- Clarification of the lend-lease agreement so far as it applied
to repair of Norwegian ships. In this connection three principal
points seemed to be involved:
- (a)
- Agreement upon some method of determining what constitutes war damage for which the United States will pay without obligation to the Norwegians and what constitutes marine damage which the Norwegians are to repair at their own expense. There has already been some discussion of this point, and it should not be difficult.
- (b)
- A solution of the problem of the disposition of insurance payments made to the Norwegian Shipping Mission by British Insurance companies on account of war damage which the United States Government will repair. Briefly Mr. Sunde claims that the Norwegians should both have the war damage repaired by the United States without cost to them and be entitled to keep the insurance payments. This, I believe, is not so unreasonable as it at first appears. He claims that the insurance payments are made to the Norwegian Shipping Mission as a governmental entity and are used by the Norwegian Government for its general war purposes. He claims that a similar arrangement occurs in respect to lend-lease repairs to British ships. He argues with some force that, if the Norwegian Government pays over the insurance money to this country, it receives no benefit from the lend-lease agreement. I said that this problem presented real difficulties, but that some fair solution would have to be arrived at.
- (c)
- The solution of special problems which arise out of the repair by the War Shipping Administration of Norwegian ships which have been laid up in this country as being obsolete and useless He contends that, if the War Shipping Administration decides to repair ships which the Norwegian Government cannot afford to repair and which should not be repaired as a matter of ordinary use, this cost [Page 97] should be written off by the War Shipping Administration and that the extent of the Norwegian Government’s liability should be to pay over out of the earnings of the ships the amounts which the Norwegian Government would ordinarily have paid if the ships had been in a reasonable state of repair. He points out that, if the Norwegian Government is liable for the total amount, it is then being forced to assume a liability which it would not voluntarily assume and which, in the event of the loss of the ship, would impose a dead loss upon the Norwegian Government, and which, even in the case of survival of the ship, would make the Norwegian Government pay a war expense incurred at the instance of this Government and for the purposes of this Government. Here again I said that I thought a fair settlement could be reached.
Mr. Sunde particularly requested that the Department expedite these discussions so that he might return to England before Christmas. I told him that I would discuss the matter with Mr. Long, who I was sure would assemble the appropriate representatives of other agencies of the Government and expedite the discussions as much as possible.