SOVIET VESSELS SIGHTED ON THE GRAND BANKS/THIER USE OF RADIO

• Document Type: CREST
• Collection: General CIA Records
• Document Number (FOIA) /ESDN (CREST): CIA-RDP80-00809A000500510017-4
• Release Decision: RIPPUB
• Original Classification: C
• Document Page Count: 3
• Document Creation Date: December 15, 2016
• Document Release Date: May 24, 2001
• Sequence Number: 17
• Publication Date: June 1, 1954
• Content Type: REPORT

Approved For Release 2003/10/01 : CIA-RDP80-00809A000500510017-4
U.S. Officials Only
CONFIDMV.rTAL
25X1A
CENTRAL. INTELLIGENCE AGENCY
INFORMATION REPORT
SUBJECT Soviet Vessels Sighted on the Grand Banks
Their Use of Radio
PLACE ACQUIRED
(0Y SOURCE)
DATE ACQUIRED
(BY SOURCE)
or ra ..ITID f~.Tti. ?IT>I. 1>[Y[OUI.r or TIrN IS. [[CTI OIrO AI
01.0 TIt. Cr J>t q.6. Or0.nts in substance:
We have just returned from the Banks J-0 Apr 547. While there we did
not see any ships which we thought were Soviet trawlers. However, since
we customarily keep the inter-ship radio phone turned on, we did hear
other fishermen in the area discu,3ing the "strangers" they bad seen.
These radio conversations indica*~ed that the other fishermen had sighted
two ships not customarily- presenton the Banks and wondered what vessels
they were. I cannot identify by name any of the other ships whose people
took part in the radio discussions.
Source B (b) We have just returned from the Grand Banks area J-0 Apr 547. We did not
see the ships under discussion ourselves. However, on occasions when we
were-communicating with the marine radio phone operator with whom we
usually make contact, we learned that he had experienced interference
caused by what he believed to be some vessel in the vicinity transmit-
ting on a frequency close to that of his station. I was unable to
identify the language used by the ship or station which was interfer-
ing with the transmission from our regular radio marine contact. I
don't believe I would be able to distinguish between Spanish, Portuguese,
or French, but I don't think that the voices which caused the interference
were talking in any of those languages.
Source C (c) During the night of 29 April 1954 the night operator at the marine radio
phone station indicated above wrote the following message to me as his
supervisor
Lin the note quoted below "F/V" in the abbreviation for fishing vessel,
"MSO" stands for Marine Service Operator and "QHiM!" is the international
radio code signal meaning "interference_'7
3. "Bill : This evening at about 7:-0 PM DST the /n F/V 7 was talking
to the operating representative ashore. Several times during the conver-
sation he complained of the severe interference from F/V's or rather, as he
said, Portuguese and other foreign ships talking on jhe transmitting fre-
quency of the radio marine station]. I tried to talk to him after he signed
off with his contact but MSO signed off too fast and shut down before I
could get him. During the conversation he said mother US F/v 7 was in
his vicinity and he was going to contact them and tell them there was a death
message for them.
"About 8:30 PM the same ship called in and after his call fI 7
talked to them and inquired about QRM. ~e 7 said that he was not getting
any right noa but that earlier when they were out on Grand Banks they could
hear foreign ships, etc. talking in the afternoon and evening. At present
they were about 550 miles feast of 7 Boston on Quereau Bank.
CONFIDENTIAL/US OFFICIALS ONLY
L_
Approved For Release 2003/10/01 : CIA-RDP80-00809A000500510017-4
 Approved For Release 2003/10/01 : CIA-RDP80-00809A000500510017-4
CONFIDENTIAL/US OFFICIALS ONLY
-3-
~25X1A
"Aprnrently those were foreign ships on urana Ba kis , or else ib is
the long-range transmissions from ships off the coast of Europe.
"I+i.yba saneone :Pill b::. _mtereated. If foreign ships on Grand Banks,
then they are operating illegally in Zone 2 for frequency".
(Nav., Intervie'1ing Officer's Note: As of 5 May 54 no complaints had been
filed by any fishing concerns local to the area Lelative to interference
with transmission of the local marine radio phone station] with either the
Federal Communications Commission or the Telephone Company here.)
728.3 N(8A)
753.0;3 8e
) 1
Approved For Release 2003/10/01 : CIA-RDP80-00809A000500510017-4