THE PORT OF BURGAS

• Document Type: CREST
• Collection: General CIA Records
• Document Number (FOIA) /ESDN (CREST): CIA-RDP80-00810A002700500001-6
• Release Decision: RIPPUB
• Original Classification: C
• Document Page Count: 13
• Document Creation Date: December 15, 2016
• Document Release Date: October 22, 2003
• Sequence Number: 1
• Publication Date: October 28, 1953
• Content Type: REPORT

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INTE.LLIGENCE AGENCY
INFORMATION REPORT
c
Oil! OF wao4
ships in the port of Burgas &
The Port of Burgas
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TNR SOU!CI IVAWATIONS IN THIS REPORT All DIPINITIVR.
TIM APNAISM OP CONTIINT IS TRNTATIVR.
am my M "Van)
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Is.
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s
o419
This Document contains Information affecting the 31 am
tional Defense of the United States, within the new
Ing of Title 18, Sections 793 and 794, of the U.a. Cod....
amended. Its transmission or revelation of its oontesjs
to or receipt by an unauthorized person is prohibhW
by law. The reproduction of this form is prohtblted.
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REPORT NO.
DATE DISTR.
NO. OF PAGES
REQUIREMENT NO.
REFERENCES
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28 October 1953
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a> SUWI & AND# a Swedish freighter of spout 7,000 tone, which unloaded agri-
otsit ural and industrial vachinerye Among the materials were port,; lain bov2s
foR' 441 -W
these were loaded immediately on a Turkish ship of about 400
tools which bailed for the Soviet Union. It is noted '",,hat as a..r ria Bulgaria*
tMnkT Chit all thin ? oomia from abroad are of Soviet or ac the ru2ftV
4ilbl'tf for mwppl'e Th. Netherla4!
bet the " came On a ,3p, und would
not bolievt their true origin*
be AMOWt, a Greeks with Panamanian flag, about 4,000 tone, which loaded
slakovml a (s uiseed es) for Denmark.
M l* a tinnish freighter of about 7,500 tons, which loaded ores for Pol id.
d? .Tie .h 110rk Jh freighter of about 9,000 tons # which loaded tobaooo for
I. CTNDB* (sto jren Ccnstanta~
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BLAOOY KASABOV, a Bulgarian freighter, about 3,000 tons, which Laded wine in
barrels and general cargo; destination unknown but rumored to be in the
Mediterranean area.
J. NIKOLA VAPTSAROV, a Bulgarian freighter, about 1,600 tons, which loaded crates
marked Alexandria, Haifa, Jaffa.
KARL MARX, a Soviet freighter, about 8,000 tons, which loaded and unloaded
general cargo.
TSFONIT, an Israeli freighter, about 7,000 tons, which entered the harbor
empty to load unknown cargo for an unknown destination.
M* SENEGAAL, an Italian freighter, about 5,000 tons, which loaded ge n=.ral cargo
for Odessa.
2. The sketbhon page ~ 5 Shows the following ins tallations s
1, Harbor entrance, which is closed at sunset by a series of buoys folding to
the north.
2. Entrance lights.
3. Pilot station with a small antiaircraft gun on its roof.
4. Position at which, about every four days, the PORTORIA, a sm .l,: , Italian tanker
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of about 1
500 tons, unloads petroleum products from Constar -Ws.
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the ship is under a 1-year charter.
5? Oil pipes.
6. Position at which seven light ships were observed tied up. The all have the
same appearance, with a length of about 20-25 meters
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25X1 y are armed a small gun athe stern and ano tier at a.- prow; o
are of unknown caliber and are protected with a steel cover T,~ zi.o.h is not a
turret. They also have a small bridge with a mast. Two ant~zft.rcraft guns
on turrets are set behind the bridge. Depth charges were or:: the stern.
These boats are used more or less for patrol purposes, and 'ere seen leaving
25X1 the harbor during the day alone or in irs one after the c.tther. These
vessels did not appear to b old,
Position at which a small grill of unknown make was noticed, half of which
is in the water. A small warship was seer.. in this ~r two or 25X1
thr" days, and after that, no vessel. was noted at the positLo .. This ship
etc
rather small re
airs (
aintin
)
was
oin
nder
p
g,
.
g
p
g
u
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25X1 8. Position at which a warshi was tied up.
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seemed to be new and two turrets) with ono gun o s. un......t' ca_. er each
(stern and prow each one), a small bridge with a mast one srrLoke tack, and
two boats, right astern of the smokestack 25X1
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V, A 4-story ui ng, not an old one, of unknown use, painted light yellow on
the outside.
10. Position at which Diesel ships were seen being repaired.
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11. Position at which 'passenger ships were painted white
0
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12. Position at which small ferry boats were seen. Those boats travel along the
Bulgarian coast and up to Varna.
13? A small pier.
14. Stairs of exit toward the city.
15. A small 1-story building usually used by the harbor gu:?-d responsible for
guarding the harbor and the ships. These gaards axle Axrn: r personnel.
16. An old large 4- or 5-story building being used as the Harbormaster's office.
17. Position at which piles of wooden fruit barrels were seen. They were
destined for export to the Soviet Union.
18. Position at which iron rods and bars for concrete were seen, as well as
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solid iron rods with a diameter of 10 to 1,5 6entimeters and various boxes
of unknown contents, but judged from the packing to ba 11 h t mater. ials.
total of about 1,500 large and small boxes were noted.
the irons should comprise the cargo of at least one Liberty shim.
the solid (iron) rods had a length of 10 to 1K mra:s=
19. Public road leading to the city.
20. A high 1-story warehouse for general merchandise (mainly tobacco) and a
cellar about 120-140 meters long which contained fruit barrels.
21. A public road.
22:. Another large 2-story warehouse for general merchandise (tobacco and various
boxes, etc.) about 200-250 meters long. On the front and the center of this
building was a large.portrait of Stalin; a portrait of Ohorvenkov was at one
end of the building, and a portrait of Dimitrov at the other end.
23. Two new electric cranes, on iron rails, 3-ton capacity (written on the
cranes). These cranes were moving both on iron rails on the ground and on
iron rails resting on the warehouses. It was said that they are of Yugoslav
manufacture and origin, but it is not known how they were obtained. The
following is a sketch of this type of crane:
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24.
25.
26.
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27.
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28.
A double-track rail line.
Coastal road.
Single-track rail line.
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29. Position at which were seen about 50 large crates of various sizes, such as:
2 meters high, 2 meters wide, meters long, or 3 x 3 x 3, or 2.5 x 2.5 x
2.5. They had the mark "CCCP" (USSR) on them, and probably contained
machinery.
30. Position at which were seen irons of similar type and quantity as li21`,ed in
No. 18 above, and an additional 80 small and large crates. Among this material
was an old small railroad steam engine. All of this material was probably
of Soviet origin.
31. Single-story warehouse, about 120 meters long, containing phosphates and
cements.
32. Two Diesel engine cranes, 10 tons capacity (as marked on them), old, and
shaped as follows:
33. Position at which three or four Turkish Diesel engine ships were noted
waiting to take on cargo.
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Fart of Burgas
(November-December 1952)
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3.
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Deaths in the harbor are indicated by figures in parentheses.!
11.. At position No. 6, besides the ships listed, there was also one Navy oll tan er,
about 200-250 tons having the color o
the arrangement in the northwestern part of the harbor,
., ons No. 11, 12, and 1
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x71953
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port of Burgas the following installationst
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2. A Greek ship loading 3!000 tons of cement # a' Lydda and Amman.
3. An Israeli ship loading coal dust.
1. A Soviet ship loading pipes 6-8 meters long and 0.20 meters wide.
5. A French ship unloading general cargo.
6. A Turkish ship ready to be loaded.
7. Train or automobile station.
8. Port exit.
9? INFLOT offices.
10. Double pipeline for combustible fuel.
U. Large building under construction.
12. Hotel Balkan.
13. Hotel.
Jig. Casino.
15. Garden.
1. A Diesel Turkish vessel.
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16. Warehouse.
17. Warehouse.
18. Two cranes for loading and unloading.
19. Summer theater (under construction on the public square).
20. Church.
21. City electric power station.
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7-16 August 1953
7. The harbor of Burgas is very deep. There is a tide of about one meter. There
was no difficulty in finding anchorage for the ships.
0.
25X1 9? onsiderable movement in the streets. I
that ere is no great shortage of food. The streets are not always lignight. People express themselves against Tito. At the harbor and in prominent
places where crews of foreign ships can see them are pictures of Hitler handing
an axe to Tito. Generally the inhabitants do not appear to be happy, and they
are afraid to talk. Their clothing is very simple; practically nobody wears a
necktie,
10. The sketch on page 3O shows the following installations at the port:
1? with-a beacon on the roof.
2. Masses of rocks in the sea to protect the harbor breakwater.
3. Well-constructed breakwater about 500 meters long, on two foundations. On
the outside, towards the sea, the breakwater is of reinforced concrete raised
high in order to protect from the sea persons and vehicles moving on the
breakwater. There was no movement on the mole.
4. Another breakwater of massive stones. Its arrangement further closes the
mouth of the harbor.
5.
Series of buoys arranged like a fence. When the warship (No. 6) moored?
this fence of buoys was moved to position ;a.
Small Naval vessel, probably a torpedo boat. Its prow is not high. On the
after deck, it carries a quick-firing gun, and a small similar gun on the
forward deck.
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7. A small Greek steamship (the only one noted)* name unknown, 1,000-1,500 tons.
It
l
d
was un
oa
ing olives from 10 to 11 August 1 but remained a t its posi_
tion after it had finished loading* 25X1
Turkish sailing ships, five or six in number. These sailing ships come
frequently, usually carrying grain, and sail away.
9. Position of two cranes moving on steel tracks. These cranes are old and
self-powered, burning either fuel oil or coal.
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10. Three warehouses, capacity unknown, but stated to be "quite large." They
are about 25 meters long, and each has six doors They ed a Ildenti-
fied goods, black in color; this was 25X1
export olive oil. Along th ze warehouses there is a track on
which two of the wheels of the four cranes (No. ll) move; the other two
wheels move on a line of track laid on the ground.
11. Position of four mobile cranes. The one to the left is considerably larger
than the other three. The three smaller ones have the number "3,00"" In-
scribed fin them. The two cranes mnnticnod in No. 9 above are like these
three smaller cranes. All four of these cranes are new and are electric
powered. Women work on them during the dir, and men work on them at night,
A Soviet freighter of about 7,000 tons, name u.:drnown.
A Greek freighter under the Panamanian frig, name unknown, tonnage about,
8,000. It.was unloading ore from China.
15? Small freighter under the Panamanian flag. It was unloading unidenti:Ned
cargo,
16. A small Su1Ararian fral ffh+. a -AA ?assenger ship loaded with wheat 25X1
The wheat was unloaded by a silo sic
from which it was picked up by winches and
17. Two; vessels, probably Naval auxiliaries, about 350 tons each. They t
Diesel engines, and the stern is of peculiar form; 25X1
of the ships which lay cables in the sea.
18. Ten or 15 ship were noted at this position. They are a kind of torpedo
boat or mine layer. Each is about 10 meters long and carries two cannons.
Ever
da
t
th
y
y
wo or
ree of them leave the harbor for maneuvers.
19. Mole constructed of stone, about 500 meters long, equipped wit
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20. A 2-story building used as a control station.
21. Lighthouse built on the mole, about :five meters high.
22. Large exterior anchorage surrounding the harbor proper. At this place ships
anchor before entering the harbor for health inspections,, etc.
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7-16 August 1953 25X1
11. One afternoon, an airplane was sighted towing a target (seen at a distance about
1,500 meters, The plane was flying at a height of about 1,000 meters.
heard one or two guns firing four or five se aIrate rounds: 1ho shells exp o.oc:d.
around the target and left white smoke, I
the artillery 25X1
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was from outside the city of Burgas, i
and lug he plane flow for about 10 n~inutes,
12. The sketch on page 12 shows the following installations:
1. Barrier at entrance of the harbor. It consists of barrels floating in a
connected series.
2. Greek freighter of about 1,000 tons, name unknown, which unloaded a cargo
of olives,
3. Soviet freighter of about 7,000 tons which was loading general cargo.
L. Greek-owned Panamanian freighter of 7,000-P,000 tons which was unloading
ore from China.
5.
Panamanian freighter (also Greek-ovmned) which was loading grain.
6.
Bulgarian packet, load about 600 tons, which was unloading ?rain. It makes
regular runs.
7.
Three large 1-stor
warehou
y
ses,
8.
Three electric-powered cranes on steel tracks. All three have a 3-to:i
capacity.
9.
One electric-powered crane larger than, the foregoing three cranes. It i