USA would not take Austrian merchant ships lying in American harbours in custody according tot he Dutch newspaper Algemeen Handelsblad dated 22 August 1917

An item reported that while Austria was not (officially) in war with the United States her merchant ships were not taken into custody. However of the 16 ships lying in American harbours were 8 bought by the Kerr Navigation Corporation at New York, USA. The sale was approved by the US Shipping Board stating that the ships were not to be handed during the period that the ships were used for the Allied trade on the Atlantic Ocean especially on French and Italian harbours. Medium cargo capacity of the ships was 6.500 tons. The US Federal Shipping Board bought on 10 May 7 of the former Austrian ships from American owners.(1)

Note
1. By law dated 7 December 1917 declared USA war on Austria.