ORGANIZATION, VESSELS, AND ROUTES OF SOVTANKER/ (FUN) SERIKH

• Document Type: CREST
• Collection: General CIA Records
• Document Number (FOIA) /ESDN (CREST): CIA-RDP82-00047R000400060002-8
• Release Decision: RIPPUB
• Original Classification: C
• Document Page Count: 2
• Document Creation Date: December 23, 2016
• Document Release Date: April 19, 2013
• Sequence Number: 2
• Publication Date: January 20, 1954
• Content Type: REPORT

Declassified in Part - Sanitized Copy Approved for Release @ 50-Yr 2014/11/04: CIA-RDP82-00047R000400060002-8
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CLASSIFICATION CORFIDENTIAL
CENTRAL INTELLIGENCE AGENCY
INFORMATION REPORT
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COUNTRY USSR
SUBJECT
PLACE
ACQUIRED
DATE
ACQUIRED
Organization, Vessels, and Routes of Sovtanker/
(fnu) Serikh
DATE (of Info)
THIS DOCUMINT CONTAINS INFORMATION AAAAAA IMO TMS NATIONAL 0111011
OP TIOli U TTTTTTTTTTTT SOTHIS TNI MIANINSOF TITLE 111, SICTIONS 792
ANN TOSI or TIM U.O. cons, AS AMENDED. ITS TTTTTT issiox OR 0100.
LOTION OF ITS C TTTTTTT TO ON 01011111 OV AN UNAUTNOSIRCO TTTTTT IS
PROHIBITS* 10 4.0!. TAN RIFOOOUCTION OF SNIS 1000 1$ FRONIOITIO.
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DATE DISTR. aid0 Jan 1954
NO. OF PAGES 2
NO. OF ENCLS.
(LISTED BELOW)
SUPPLEMENT TO
REPORT NO.
THIS IS UNEVALUATED INFORMATION
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1. Up to the fall of 1932 the Black Sea Shipping Administration (UChP -
Upravleniya Chernomorskovo Parakhodstvo) in Odessa had a tanker section.
In the autumn of 1932 this section was made separate and its headquarters
was moved to Tuapse. For about two years thereafter it was called tha :Llack
Sea Petroleum Shipping Administration (Upravleniya Neftenalivnovo Che,I10-
morskovo Parakhodstvo). Then in about late 1934 the name of the orgalri-
zation was changed to Sovtanker. In 1932 all the tankers had had thainc
of their home port changed from Odessa to Tuapae. Sovtanker was a sapaz'ate
organization under the People's Commissariat of Water Transport (Narodni
Kommissariat Vodnovo Transporta) in Moscow. A building was constructed for
Sovtanker in Tuapse during 1932 - 1933. It was located in the port alclIg-
side the other port offices and was built on a slope rising from the
The structure had three or four stories, was white in color, cnd was zmae
of ferro-concrete.
2. The Director (Nachalnik) of Sovtanker was (Thu) Serikh. He held his
position from late 1932 until at least 1941
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Serikh was a former 1ons:.4,(_ (-
man from the anchorage of Gagri, near Tqapse he finished 50X1
gymnIsium (high school) in Gagri. He was a capable individual and had
received training for administrative du;ies in Moscow. Soon thereafter he
became Director of Sovtanker. He did a good job and was said to be 3
decent person. He was of medium height, strongly built blond, and had a
round face. In 1932 he was about 30 years of age. He was a Communist
Party member. Under the Director of Sovtanker were the fo lo-,Ink individ-
uals and sections: Deputy Director (ZamLstitel); the dispatche?1, iection
(the most important part of the organization); engineering becons;
personnel, surrnlv. and other sections, including warehouses; pplitical
section (Politotdel- this branch had authority over all the poi_itical
officers to be found on the tankers aad sent out visiting inot.uccor to
the ships); and the military section (Voonnoi Otdel - which ke, 9 llst
of military reserve personnel employed Ly Sovtanker).
CLASSIFICATION CONFIDENT-AI.
DISTRIBUTION
Navy EV
ORR EV
Declassified in Part - Sanitized Copy Approved for Release @ 50-Yr 2014/11/04: CIA-RDP82-00047R000400060002-8
Declassified in Part - Sanitized Copy Approved for Release @ 50-Yr 2014/11/04: CIA-RDP82-00047R000400060002-8
CONFIDENTIAL
- 2 -
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3. Sovtanker was the only shipping administration for water transport of oil in
the USSR, to Soviet and foreign ports. However, in Baku, other tankers were
based, which came under another organization called the Caspian Petroleum ShIpping
Administration (Upravleniya Neftenalivnovo Caspiskovo Parakhodstvo). The tankers
based in Baku had only short routes. The main route was from Baku to Astrakhan
anchorage. The various fleets of the Soviet Navy also had their own tankers
but these were few in number and were used only to supply t:,e. Tlavy's ships.
L. Many of the tankers assigned to Sovtanker were sent for periods as i.on as from
five to eight years to Vladivostok. Excluding the above ships, the basic tanker
fleet of Sovtanker as of June 1941 was:
Name of Tanker: Where Manufactured:
Sergo
Sovetskaya Neft
Stalin
Kuibyshev
Avanesov
Kreml
Moskva
Sakhalin
Stakhanovets
Yalta
Plus a few others
USSR
Foreign Built
USSR (built about 1930,
good condition)
USSR (built before 1917, ex- 5,000
cargo vessel, poor condition)
Sweden (built in late 1920'6,.9,000
good condition)
USSR
USSR
USSR
USSR (built before 1917,
poor condition)
I' (built about 1930, good
condition)
? (built about 1935, good 500
condition)
Approximate Cargo Carat
in Tons:
12,000
14,000
12,000
12,000
8,000
8,000
1,000
500
As of mid-1941 the tankers listed above which had been built in the
good condition as at that time they were only from five to 10 years
tankers of Sovtanker carried petroleum and petroleum products, such
and lubricating oils. several of the tankers listed
earlier been called by such names as Soyuz Voanikov, Soyuz
Soyuz Metalistov (ie, they were named after labor unions),
oil tankers, from 1932 on, had their names changed to such
and Kreml.
5. The main tanker routes were:
USSR were in
old. he '
as gasol:ine
above naL
Gornorabc)chia, ahd
Hol,rever, the la2ve
designations as 81:o..
A. Home Routes -
Batum-Odessa (the main route)
Tuapse - Odessa .
Novorossisk -- various small ports on the Black and Molt Seas
B. Foreign Routes -
From Batum and from Tuapse to Vladivostok
From Batum and from Tuapse to Germany and other foreign countries.
6. The frequency of the tankers' voyages on the ubove routes depended, ITon th
current demand for petroleum products. In retard to traffic norm, each
was set a monthly ton-mile norm and this varied with circumstances.
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156.532
T56.5t1
156.52
CONFIDENTIAL
TOM
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Declassified in Part - Sanitized Copy Approved for Release @ 50-Yr 2014/11/04: CIA-RDP82-00047R000400060002-8