861.24/12–1147
The Acting Secretary of State to the Chargé of the Soviet Union (Tsarapkin)
Sir: In the discussions of a lend-lease settlement between the representatives of our two Governments, the Government of the United States made known to the Government of the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics that title to certain merchant vessels which had been transferred to the Government of the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics in accordance with the terms of the Lend-Lease Act and the Agreement between our two Governments of June 11, 1942, and which remain in Soviet custody, could not be transferred to the Government of the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics in connection with a lend-lease settlement, and that these vessels must be returned to the Government of the United States, at ports designated by it. These vessels consist of one pre-war-built dry cargo vessel and seven war-built tankers, as lifted below:
| American Name | Soviet Name | Date Transferred | |
| 1. | White Clover | Lev Tolstoi | April 30, 1945 |
| 2. | Thomas Gallaudet | Maikop | November 13, 1943 |
| 3. | Paul Dunbar | Belgorod | December 14, 1943 |
| 4. | Charlotte Gilman | Apsheron II | July 25, 1944 |
| 5. | Cedar Creek | Taganrog II | April 30, 1944 |
| 6. | Shawnee Trail | Emba II | June 28, 1944 |
| 7. | Pioneer Valley | Krasnaya Armiya | October 4, 1944 |
| 8. | Muir Woods | Elbruz | March 22, 1945 |
It is accordingly requested by the Government of the United States that these vessels be returned immediately, but not later than sixty days from the date of this note, to representatives of the United States Government in any port in the continental United States.1
It has come to the attention of this Government that the tanker Muir Woods, or Elbruz, is reported to be currently offered for charter by your Government, to carry cargo from the Persian Gulf to the Mediterranean. The Government of the United States considers any such chartering of the vessels listed above to be contrary to the terms upon which they were made available.2
It has also come to the attention of the Government of the United States that some of the other vessels transferred to your Government under the Lend-Lease Act and in accordance with the terms of the Agreement of June 11, 1942, have also been chartered to third parties. Although title to such vessels may be transferred to the Government of the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics in a lend-lease settlement agreement, until such an agreement has been concluded, the Government of the United States considers the chartering of such other vessels also to be contrary to the terms upon which these vessels were originally transferred, unless prior approval of such chartering has been obtained from the Government of the United States.
Accept [etc.]
- Mr. Samuel Reber, the Deputy Director of the Office of European Affairs, pointed out in a memorandum of December 11, that “under the terms of the master Lend-Lease agreement with the U.S.S.R., our legal right to demand the recapture of Lend-Lease material requires as a condition precedent that there be a declaration of the end of the emergency by the President. If, therefore, the Soviet Government should decline to return the vessels on this legal ground, we would find it necessary to proclaim the end of the emergency in order to perfect our legal position.” (861.24/12–1147)↩
- The Chairman of the Maritime Commission, Vice Admiral William W. Smith, commented in a letter of December 11 to Secretary of State Marshall that the “use to which this vessel is being put indicates to us very clearly that the Soviet Government does not have continuing and complete need for the use of this vessel” or for the three other T–2 type tankers procured under lend-lease arrangements. Chairman Smith therefore “strongly urged that every effort be made to have the Soviet Government return all of the tankers in question without further delay.” (861.24/12–1147)↩