894.30/9–2348
The Acting Political Adviser in Japan (Sebald) to the Secretary of State
[Received October 5.]
The Acting Political Adviser has the honor to transmit a copy of a press release by the Public Information Office, General Headquarters, Far East Command, entitled “Ship Scrapping Program Nearing Completion.”1
[Page 1022]Scrapping of war vessels, according to the release, is 97 per cent complete, and should be finished by the end of the year. The 421 warships designated for scrapping in 1946 were inoperable, chiefly through war damage, and were therefore not subject to division among the Allies. Materials obtained from the scrapping have been returned to the Japanese government.
The program of salvaging and scrapping merchant vessels is likewise proceeding rapidly, though it is not as near completion as the scrapping of warships. Of the 625 ships originally designated for the program, 31 are in process of salvage and 12 are in process of being scrapped, while 40 more are considered salvable. Ships abandoned as unsalvable have totalled 278. Scrap is being turned over to shipowners for disposal under Japanese laws.
- Dated September 16, not printed.↩