861.8591/94
Memorandum of Conversation, by Mr. G. Frederick Reinhardt of the Division of European Affairs
| Participants: | Mr. Harry Hopkins, Mr. Acheson, of the Department of State, and other members of the President’s Soviet Protocol Committee. |
During the course of the Committee meeting, the subject of Soviet ship movements in the Pacific Ocean was discussed. The United States Government has already provided the Soviet Government with sixty-seven (67) American ships and there is now pending a Soviet [Page 780] request for at least five (5) additional ships. It was apparent from the Report of the Sub-Committee on Shipping that shipments to the Soviet Union by way of the Pacific during October would be greatly reduced, because of the current lack of balances in ship positions.
Mr. Hopkins stated that our naval authorities were concerned with the lengthy turn-around in this traffic and were most anxious to obtain more information about the movements of these ships.
Mr. McPherson31 of the War Shipping Administration explained why there was reason for unusually long turn-around periods in this traffic: because of such problems as ice and the necessity to lighten the draught of the larger vessels to enable them to pass through Tartary Straits. He agreed, however, that turn-arounds of one hundred and forty (140) days appear to defy such explanation.
Mr. Hopkins suggested that because of the very great importance of this matter to the successful fulfillment of our protocol undertakings the question of lack of information on Soviet ship movements in the Pacific, particularly with respect to ex-American ships, should be taken up with the Russians at the forthcoming Three Power Conversations.32
- W. S. McPherson, Assistant Deputy Administrator for Shipping Services, War Shipping Administration.↩
- The Moscow Conference of Foreign Ministers of the United States, the United Kingdom, and the Soviet Union was held October 18–November 1, 1943. For correspondence concerning the Conference, see vol. i, pp. 513 ff.↩