POL MOVEMENT NORTH VIETNAM

• Document Type: CREST
• Collection: NGA Records (Formerly NIMA)
• Document Number (FOIA) /ESDN (CREST): CIA-RDP78B04560A006400010023-3
• Release Decision: RIPPUB
• Original Classification: S
• Document Page Count: 10
• Document Creation Date: December 28, 2016
• Document Release Date: April 10, 2000
• Sequence Number: 23
• Publication Date: August 1, 1968
• Content Type: REPORT

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PHOTOGRAPHIC INTERPRETATION MEMORANDUM
POL MOVEMENT
NORTH VIETNAM
Declass Review, NIMA/DoD
GROUP i EXCLUDED FROM
AUTOMATIC DOWNGRADING
AND DECLASSIFICATION
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W ARNIN G
This document contains information affecting
the national defense of the United sections
within the meaning of Title 18,
793 and 794, of the U.S. Code, as amended.
Its transmission or revelation of its contents
to or receipt by an unauthorized person is
prohibited by law.
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POL MOVEMENT, NORTH VIETNAM
The North Vietnamese have become more open in their handling of POL
products since the 31 March 1868 U.S. bombing restrictions were imposed,
and it is now possible to see on aerial photography some of their pre-
viously concealed dispersal and disposition techniques.
POL tankers arriving in Haiphong normally anchor in the Bach Dang
Tanker Anchorage, where they are offloaded by POL barge. This activity
has frequently been seen on photography, but the specific means of dis-
position of the POL after it had been offloaded onto the barges was not
observed until (Figure 1). Photography of this date, for the
first time, reveals barges transferring POL by hose to tank trucks parked
on a causeway across the Song Gia River. This type of activity was
probably carried out at night prior -f;o the bombing restrictions. Unless
the POL is scheduled for continual movement from its offloading to its
terminal destination, it is probably moved by tank trucks to underground
dispersal areas, where it is stored until needed (Figure 2).
The movement of POL from its offloading near Haiphong to other parts
of the country may be accomplished in several ways. Petroleum can be
loaded on rail cars in Haiphong and
moved to Hanoi (Figure 3). The POL can then be distributed from Hanoi by
rail to the Nam Dinh and Thanh Hoa areas. Pol imported in drums or
drummed in Haiphong could also leave the city via rail cars. Due to the
U.S. bombing threat below the 19th parallel and the poor condition of the
rail lines in the panhandle area, the rail tank cars can go only as far
south as Thanh Hoa. No significant numbers of rail tank cars have been
observed north of Hanoi.
The transportation of POL by road from Haiphong may be accomplished
by conventional fuel tank trucks filled from POL barges, or by 55-ga11on-
type drums loaded on cargo trucks. In either case, the trucks can carry
the petroleum to Hanoi, where it can then be shipped south or to other
parts of North Vietnam. The trucks could also transport POL from Haiphong
directly south to the Nam Dinh and Thanh Hoa areas, or through the southern
panhandle.
Although movement by road and rail is certainly feasible, it is felt
that the bulk of all the POL leaving the Haiphong area and scheduled for
southward movement does so by waterborne logistics craft utilizing the
inland waterways of the delta region of the Ha iphong~Hanoi~Nam Dinh
triangle. POL barges have been seen as far south as Nam Dinh. It is
possible that coastal craft leaving Haiphong could transport POL to
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southern coastal cities (i.e., Vinh and Thanh Hoa) for further
transshipment, or even into South Vietnamese territorial waters.
Photography of the Nam Dinh area taken in July shows coasters, being
used as POL carriers, engaged in the transfer of POL (Figure ~+). Hosing,
as well as several underground storage tanks, can be seen on this photo-
graphy. It is not possible, however, to tell if the POL is being trans-
ferred from the coasters to the trucks or vice versa. In either case, the
POL is probably scheduled for further movement south.
It is felt that the POL which moves south from Thanh Hoa does so
primarily by truck (Figure 5). Fuel tank trucks and cargo trucks carrying
55-gallon drums have been observed on various routes below Thanh Hoa and
as far south as Laos. This does not rule out the possibility of water
transport of POL to Vinh and other parts of the southern region.
Coasters, of the type observed in the Nam Dinh transfer activity, have been
seen as far south as Vinh, although they could not be positively identified
as POL carriers.
A newly identified pipeline under construction (NPIC~R-9368) has
been observed west of Vinh extending in a NNW-SSE direction for 21.5 nm.
The pipeline begins and terminates in buried POL storage areas. This is
yet another inovation in the movement of POL to areas in southern North
Vietnam, Laos, and South Vietnam.
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