OUTLINES RIVER FLEET'S SHORTCOMINGS IN 1949

• Document Type: CREST
• Collection: General CIA Records
• Document Number (FOIA) /ESDN (CREST): CIA-RDP80-00809A000600300053-9
• Release Decision: RIPPUB
• Original Classification: S
• Document Page Count: 4
• Document Creation Date: December 22, 2016
• Document Release Date: September 7, 2011
• Sequence Number: 53
• Publication Date: April 10, 1950
• Content Type: REPORT

Sanitized Copy Approved for Release 2011/09/08: CIA-RDP80-00809A000600300053-9
CLASSIFICATION SECRET ~Cpp~
CENTRAL INTELLIGENCE AGEN Y66l111II11
I IJ ~nou ~~r~n~~ rROiA
COUNTRY USSR
SUBJECT Transportation -River 'lest
HOW
PUBLISHED Twice-weekly newspaper
WHERE
PUBLISHED Moscow
DATE
PUBLISHED 3 San - 14 Feb 1950
LANGUAGE Russian
rxu oocuwur cowruw[ iwro[wmow ?rnrnw[ m unoru ovuo
or rx[ uwttm wr~m nrxiw rw[ wuww or nnowu[ ~a [e
u. w. c., n [wo w[. u ~wcwo[o. n[ rwununow ow rw[ ur[uno?
or m cownwn a ~wr uwwu m ~w uwurxowu ru[ew a no~
xumo n [we. [?rwoournow or rxu ra[w a r[oxumo.
DATE OF
INFORMATION 1950
URGES DRIVE FOR MORE FREIGfiT -- Rechnoy Transport, No 8, 27 Jan 50
Although the river fleet completed the 1949 navigation plan 101.8 per-
cent for tons and 100.5 percent x'or ton-kilometers, only 16 ship lines com-
pleted the plan for both tons and ton-kilometers. Two ship lines completed
the assignment For the index of tons alone and three completed the index for
ton-kilometers alone. 'The Kama, Beleya, Northern, Upper Irtyah, and Amur
ship lines failed to complete the plan for either index. In spite of this,
during the 1949 navigation season the 1940 level oP freight hauling for tone
and ton-kilometers was exceeded as a whole.
Macy ship lines, however, did not utilize ell the possibilities for trsas-
ferring Preight from the railroads to water, and thus hindered the further de-
velopment of mixed rail-water hauling.
It is necessary to note that in recent years the fleet of the ship lines
has been reinforced and continues to be reinforced by the newest types of
ships. The equipping of ports and docks with highly-productive machinery has
permitted the increasing of their capacity. The hauling capacity of the river
fleet has also increased. Malty ship lines now have a considerable number of
Diesel freighters which can be used for high-speed hauling.
All this testifies to the present need of finding supplementary cargoes
for the fleet. It is especially necessary to load the ships on the return
tripe.
The timber, paper, chemical, and metallurgical industries oP the Urals
and Urals areas can give the river fleet a lot of business. It ie necessary
only to get these cargoes to water. It is entirely possible to carry them
and to assure on-time delivery of them to their destinations; the rates are
considerably lower than the railroad rates. The development of this mixed
rail=~+ater carrying would promote an improvement in the utiliaatlon of the
fleet.
sEC~E~
Sanitized Copy Approved for Release 2011/09/08: CIA-RDP80-00809A000600300053-9
 Sanitized Copy Approved for Release 2011/09/08: CIA-RDP80-00809A000600300053-9
For some cargoes (for instance, mineral construction materials), the 1940
level has not yet been reached. Nevertheless, the ew14? d?velepmrnt of con-.
struccion in the areas around the rivers will permit the hauling of these car-
goes _n all the river basins.
During the 1949 navigation season fleet utilization improved. In many
basins hydrometeorological conditions were less favorable than in 1948. How-
ever, the indexes for the operaticns of the towing fleet (traction and tonnage)
for productivity in all types of traffic were for the ministry considerably
highs-* than in 1940 as a whole and also exceeded the assignments planned for
195D.
in 1949ainscomparisonfwith'1948r butowerehstillyexcessiveshi~ewrunningutime,
loaded and unloaded, of dry-cargo tonnage was 26.5 percent of the navigating
time, while layovers awaiting traction amounted to 28.5 percent of the navi-
gating time.
OUTLINES SHIP EXCHANGE, NOTES DEFECTS -- Rechnoy Transport, No 1, 3 Jan 50
During the navigation season exchange of ships between the ship lines of
the Main Administration of River Basins of Central Regions is done on a large
scale. In the spring ships are sent from the Volga to the Kama, Vyatka, and
Belays rivers for towinE timber rafts. Ships are also seat to confluent rivers
to haul grain, metal, paper, forest products, and other freight,
Traction is sent from the Moskva-Volga Canal Ship Line to Unzha, and ships
are transferred from the Moskva-Oka Ship Line to the Volga Tanker Ship Line for
carrying petroleum products from the Belays River. Traction is also exchanged
between the Volga Freight Ship Liue and the Volga Tanker Ship Line. During the
middle of the summer, when a surplus of traction accumulates on the Vyatka Ri-
ver, ships are sent to the upper reaches of the Kama to haul local freight,
Redistribution of tonnage between ship lines is done in large quantities
and during the entire navigation season. Ships loaded on the Volga are sent
to the Rama, Vyatka, Belays, and to the borders of the Moscow area ship lines,
from where loaded and empty ships are sent to the Volga.
The operations apparatus of the ship lines, upon failing to receive a suf-
ficient amount of tonnage to complete the plan, fail to take the necessary mea-
sures to achieve the maximum increase of efficiency in fleet utilization. The
many complaints received by the Ministry of River Fleet concerning the poor
utilization of leased ships testifies to the incorrect attitude of the ship
lines toward the ships on lonn. The leasing ship lines as a rule do not give
plans to the ships arriving at their borders and make little effort to assure
the efficient use of the ships. Long delays of ships on loan are permitted.
FLEET OPE,4ATIOA'S NEED IhSPROVEMENT -- Rechnoy Transport, R*o 13, 14 Feb 50
In 1949, the plan for river freight hauling was completed. The prewar
level for productivity of traction and dry-cargo tonnage and the level set by
the Five-Year Plan for 1950 for productivity of traction and dry-cargo tonnage
were exceeded.
However, there are still serious shortcomings in operational work. Delays
and accidents are still the scourge of river transports. During 1949, the non-
self-propelled fleet xas actually in motion only 35 percent of the time, and
Sanitized Copy Approved for Release 2011/09/08: CIA-RDP80-00809A000600300053-9
 Sanitized Copy Approved for Release 2011/09/08: CIA-RDP80-00809A000600300053-9 !
SE~~?~
the self-propelled freight fleet was in motion only 43 percent of the time,
The number of accidents increased over that of 1948. There were frequent
cases of spoiling, loss of cargoes, and large-scale failures to deliver
freight on time, In many basins traction was not fully utilized because of
a shortage of cargoes. The plan for carrying passengers was not fulfilled.
The main reason for these ehortcamings is the unsatisfactory control
of the work of the fleet and ports and the lagging of the shore services,
especially the dispatcher apparatus.
To reach in 1950 the level of freight hauling established by the Five-
Year Plan, it will be necessary to increase freight hauling by not less than
28.5 Percent, -- from a speech by Vakhturov, Vice Minister of River Fleet
for Operations, at an All-Union Production and Technical Coni'erence of River
I?lorkers, 9 February 1950
CRITICIZES LOhIER IRTYSH BUNIORINO __ Rechnoy Transport, No 10, 3 Feb 50
It has been calculated that during the 1949 navigation season steam-
ships of the Lower Irtysh Ship Line were delayed more than 70,000 horae-
poiaer days above plan in waiting for bunkering and taking on lubricants.
7orkers of the ports and docks of the Irtysh are doing little to improve
bunkering facilities; servicing bases are concentrated in unequipped and of-
ten completely haphazard places. In the Omsk port, :or instance, for many
years it has been necessary to take on coal from one shore and lubricants
must be brought Prom the other shore in sloops,
At such major docks as Tara, Tobol'sk, and Salekhard, the bunkering of
ships was poorly planned in regard to the ships' drafts, The xorkers of
these docks and the head of the ports department of the ship line are still
operating according to the scale of 1930 - 1935, when shallow-draft steam-
ships of 200-300 horsepower operated on the Irtysh (the coaling bases of the
Omsk-Salekhai?d section were deai.gned for them), In recent years the basin
has received many propeller-driven steamships with a draft exceeding that
of the paddle-wheel ships by 50-100 percent. .The lack of cleared approaches
prevents mooring near the cranes and transporters, and fuel must b: loaded
by hand,
Bunkering facilities of the ship line have not kept pace with the in-
crease in the number of ships. On the 1,540-kilometer stretch between Tobol'sk
and Salekhard, there is only one intermediate coaling point, at Samarovo.
The propeller-driven tugs operating on this stretch are capable of running
5-6 days between bunkerings, and to make the trip loaded from Salekhard to
Samarovo takes 7 days.
LOWER IR'!'YSH SHIP LIPIE COAipLETES PLAN -_ Rechnoy Transport, No 13, 14 Feb 50
The Lower Irtysh Ship Line completed. the navigation plan for tons and
ton-kilometers, but did nut achieve the planned index for Its basic type of
fx?eight hauling, timber in ships.
VOLGA FREIGAT SHIP LINK EXCEEDS PREWAR LEVEL __ Rechnoy Transport, No ?, 6 Jan 50
During the 1949 navigation season the Volga Freight Line exceeded the pre-
war level of freight hauling,
Sanitized Copy Approved for Release 2011/09/08: CIA-RDP80-00809A000600300053-9
 Sanitized Copy Approved for Release 2011/09/08: CIA-RDP80-00809A000600300053-9 ~
SECRET
NORTHERN SKIP LINE RECORDS FINANCIAL LOSSES -- Rechnoy Tranepor:, No 2, 6 Jan 5O
During the 149 navigation season the Northern Ship Line xae 7 million ru-
bles short of 1tb assi;;nment for revenues, and 5 million rubles oP this shortage
represented income not forthcoming from hauling rafts. The Main Administration
of River Fleet of Northern Basins did not apply itself seriousl
t th 1 1
o
q
e p ann ng
of revenues for the ship line, mechanically raising the sum of revenues from ~
ft
ra
hauling without raising the rates, xith the result that while 96 percent
of the plan for raft hauling was completed, only 90 percent of the
lan for rev-
p
enue from this source xas completed. The difference oP 6 percent represents j,~
the incre?oe ^` th
e rzvenuas plan by w miiiion rubles. This situation, how-
ever, does not+excuee the heads of the ship line, inasmuch as during 10 months
the ship line had a deficit of 12.5 million rubles instead of the ~- million ru-
bles planned. The firanc:al plan of the ship line was not fulfilled for any in-
dex.
The reason ?or this is+lure is the poor work c,f the commercial workers and
operations personnel. Clients presented claims of 28.5 million rubles against
the ship line for spoilage and failure to deliver cargoes. The cost of 1,000
equated ton-kilometers increased 7.5 percent. Only 30 percent of the bargee
loaded and cnloaded by the ship line were processed on schedule or ahead of sche-
dule.
Sanitized Copy Approved for Release 2011/09/08: CIA-RDP80-00809A000600300053-9