FACILITIES FOR DANUBE RIVER TRAFFIC

• Document Type: CREST
• Collection: General CIA Records
• Document Number (FOIA) /ESDN (CREST): CIA-RDP80-00926A007500480005-4
• Release Decision: RIPPUB
• Original Classification: C
• Document Page Count: 5
• Document Creation Date: December 14, 2016
• Document Release Date: May 8, 2001
• Sequence Number: 5
• Publication Date: December 16, 1954
• Content Type: REPORT

U.S. Officials On)y
Approved For Release 2002/07/29 : CIA-RDP80-00926A007500480005-4
CCNF.IDENTIAL
CENTRAL INTELLIGENCE AGENCY
INFORMATION REPORT
PLACE ACQUIRED
(BY SOURCE)
DATE ACQUIRED
(BY SOURCE)
Bulgaria
Facilities For Danube River Traffic
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HIS DOCUMENT CONTAINS IN MAT I N A REC IN THE NATION AI. DVENI[
F THE UNITED STATES. WITHIN THE MEANING OR TITLE IS, SECTIONS 713
NO 704. OF THE U.S, CODE, AS AMENDED. ITS TRANSMISSION OS SEYE.
ATION OF ITS CONTENTS TO 00 RECEIPT SY AN UNAUTHORIZED PERSON Is
SOHIIITED by LAW. THE EEAAODNCTION OF THIS RESORT is -IOMISITED.
THIS IS UNEVALUATED INFORMATION
DATE DISTR./G Met 1954
NO. OF PAGES
NO. OF ENCLS.
SUPP. TO
REPORT NO.
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1. In Bulgarian territory the Danube River is 470 km long. The average width is
one km with the widest point at Cryakhovo, opposite the Rumanian town of Bakes , ij,
and the narrowest near Silistra, The depth of the river varies. The
Yugoslav rivers - Sava, Tisa, Morava, and Drava - run into the Danube. While
in the Bulgarian territory the Iskur, Vit, .sum and Yantra Rivers run into
the Danube. During dry spells the level of the river is very low, and the
most shallow places are at Tsibur, Lanka, Ko duy, Boril, Belima - Punkta,
Danavitsa, Chetate Veke, Breshlen /Brushlyan 11, Kosuy port below Tutrakan,
the island Akale, Skonnya, Bankul, Raet below Lam and Yantra. At the above places
the river can be from 1.5 to 1,80 m and at most up to 2.10 m in depth. During
droughts these places are cleaned out by steam shovels.
2. There are ships which can navigate at a depth of 2.40 m up to three in, but there
are also ships that can navigate at a depth of 1.20 to 1.40 and 1.80 m..
Generally speaking the Danube is a navigable river in Bulgarian territory. The
Bulgarian bank is quite high and reaches between 14 and 30 m while the bank of the
river on the Rumanian side is low. In the vicinity cf the Timok River near
Silistra there are many places where ships can remain for the winter. Many barges
and ships, both domestic and foreign, stay at the following places over the winter:
Chistiler below the city of Vidin, Lam-Liman which is still being worked on;
Ruse-Liman., the village of Popina near Tutrakan; the island of Chubukluk and
Garvanluk (here only a certain number of empty barges and ships may remain.
The directorate of the Danube River fleet or the Danube Merchant Marine is in Ruse
where the administration for all Bulgarian harbors on the Danube is also located.
The directorate of the state river fleet or state merchant marine is located in
Sofia and is called the General Directorate.
3. Vidin harbor is used for exporting food. A ferry boat operates here, built
on four barges and can transport 48 railroad cars both empty and full. The
harbor connects with the Rumanian harbor Cala?at. There' is a good deal of activity at
Vidin Harbor because a new and fortified bridge is being built where the ferry
boat is located. Goods shipped from Vidin Harbor to the USSR include bread grains,
CCNFWENTIAL
OT!{ nT.1T!ITn UIT P1 n1PI Sr
li3
-DISTRIBUTION ? STATE ARMY NAVY I IAIR T I FBI QRB
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,
This report is for the use within the USA of the Intelligence components of the Departments or
Agencies indicated above. It is not to be transmitted overseas without the concurrence of the
originating office through the Assistant Director of the Office of Collection and Dissemination, CIA.
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tobacco., cattle,, pulp, fruits, eggs, coal, etc. The harbor, which is close to
Yugoslav territory, is of strategic significance and is consequently guarded
by troops who are well armed and are under orders of the Vidin regiment.
4. Lam Harbor is 60 km from Vidin. It is a most important harbor on the Danube
for the export and import of goods. Goods from Ranishburg (probably Regensburg ?),
Basal, Vienna, Bratislava, and Budapest, arrive in Lom Harbor. Machine
designated for Bulgaria, Turkey, and Greece go through this harbor.. Goods from
Egypt, Turkey, Greece, and Albania go to Austria, Germany, Hungary, Rumania, etc.
The harbor is not large but its turnover is great. There are many storage places
for goods here and many convenient places on the bank of the river for storing raw
materials and goods. A new Liman (estuary) is being constructed but has not been
completed yet. An electric rotor machine is used by the harbor. A military
garrison is in the city of Lom.
5. Ctryakhovo Harbor is used'for the import of goods and my for Byale, Slatina,
Oryakhovo, and to some degree Pleven Qkoliya There are many storehouses for
bread grains and the harbor is of medium sizb. There is a garrison of troops
in the town consisting of one infantry regiment.
60 'Ostrov Village is a small harbor on the Danube which is mainly used for
exporting bread grains. Dolni Vadin is a small harbor'used or the export of
bread grains from the surrounding area. Boril Harbor is used for the export of
bread grains in larger quantities. Somovit is a fairly large harbor, the third
largest after Ruse and Lom. There are two large storehouses here. It also has
two electric rotors for goods. This harbor ships cement and various ores to
the USSR, Hungary, and Czechoslovakia. Pulp is also exported from here to the USSR
and tobacco to Czechoslovakia. dlikopol Harbor is not used for the exporting
of goods but is mainly a passenger harbor. However, barges are loaded with bread
grains here. Sviehtoviarbor is quite large and well equipped with two large
storehouses ana two electric rotors. This harbor ships to the USSR mainly cement
and ores, but also bread grains. Food going to Dobruja 1.9 unloaded here. In
case of a good harvest 'err a satisfactory collectlun of grain quotas they are
exported from here to Czechoslovakia, Austria, and West Germany. The harbor has
a large meat packing plant and slaughter house for export to the USSR,
a.
'7. Ruse is the largest Danube harbor and has five electric rotors as well ae a steam
rotor. It has an estuary which is used for harboring foreign and domestic ships
during the winter. The harbor has a herring-look (drydock) to take ships and
barges which need repair out of the water, A shipyard im located here which
buil4s new barges and ships with a capacity of 300 + 1500 tons. The town has a
large military garrison. The shipyard is equipped with large machines and apparatus
and includes the following workshops: A lathe workshop, a forging shop, a wood-
working shop, a. carpentry shop for proct;jsing wooden parts of ships, a dyeing
shop, a foundry, and a workshop for electric and oxygen welding. In the estuary
there is a shipyard ferry boat, named Sofa which runs between Ruse and Giurgiv
in Rumania. The ferry boat transports cars, trucks, horses, and other vehicles but
now the new bridge is used, Near the carpentry shop there is large refrigeration
storage for meat and food. The estuary contains Navy ships as well as other training
vessels. The harbor includes large storehouses for food and other goods. Two of
these storehouses are near the customs building and three are near the Bulgarian
River Navigation Enterprise. The customs building;is located near the harbor and
has the militia, a passport section, which is under military authority, but includes
employees from the Ministry of Interior. The Ruse harbor has also a dredging section
for exoavat;i ng sand, and also for cleaning the estuary and harbors along the Danube,
In the, center of the harbor area 'here is a modern railroad station. Bunkers
are located between the shipyard and the old railroad station. No other fortifications
have been made in this harbor. Ruse gets Its electric power from the Rumanian
Harbor Giurgitiu by means of an electric cable under the Danube. Ruse as well
as the harbors uf Vidin Svishtov and Loin have a radio and ~ telegraph office for
receiving and transmitting orders,etc, During 1951 the motor ship Lom was also
equipped with radio and telegraph .facilities.
Tutrakan Harbor is used mainly for loading of bread grains and lumber. Silistra
harbor is small and used for exporting food and wood products. Tha harbor has a
silo for food, In general fishing is not well organized on the Danube. this has been
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especially true for the last few years. Previously there were private fishermen.
Now fishing is a state enterprise in the form of a fishing cooperative. Such
,n:. 6bperatives or societies are in all large settlements along the river. The
most important fishing places are-. Tataritsa, Silistra Okoliya, Tutrakan, Ruse
(near the mouth of the Mantra River), Batin, Ruse Okoliya, Svishtov, Nikopol (near
the mouth of the Iskur River), Boril, Ostrov, Cryakhovo, the Mouth of the Costa
and Skut Rivers (there is a lake here), Tsibur, Lom Okoliya, the town of Lom
itself, Akohar Bala~n.ka, in Vidin Ckoliya, Vidbol, Gomatartsi, Koshaza, Novo Selo,
and Vruv. Danube fish are consumed domestically and export is almost negligible.
9. The General Directorate of River Navigation is located in Sofia whiltr the main
4irec1 &-4s located in Ruse., Administrative agencies of the Bulgarian River
Navigation are located in Vidin, Lom, Tsibur, Oryakhovo, Samovit, Nikopol,
Svishtov, 7utrakan, and Silistra. The~5irectorate in Ruse is 200 m from the
harbor itself. An agency of the BulgarTn,+ River Navigation is located right at
Ruse , r rbor. The former main director, in Ruse,was Stefan Di kov but he was
transferred to Sofia. He was replaced by the first ma&nist of the ship Lam.
His -1-ate is not known. The Chief Engineer f of Bulgarian River Navigation -
Russ -/ is I kov, who in the absence of the director is the boss. Dukov Is not
a Communist but is still on the job because he is a specialist. The personal
inspector Is go,o who comes from I=. a previous commander of Black Sea ships
and not a Pirty member. Military and militia units are assigned to every harbor
as represe ltatiwes and agents of the State Security.. Most of them are in uniform.
They control :imports and exports of goods, movements of all ships and barges,
whether Bulgarian or foreign. Each harbor has an economic militia whielf dobtrols
the export and import of goods and each harbor has a custom authority which
inspects all incoming and outgo-tng goods. Objects which are brought in by
Bulgarians citizens must have duty paid. This applies to goods of foreigners, but
not to 5ovfat citizens, This applies to goods which will stay in Bulgaria but if they
are intended for another foreign country they are given a metal seal without
being inspected. Every harbor has a harbor administration to inspect documents
of all incoming' extdV outgoing records. Depending on the tonnage of the ship a
tax is,.paid. This tax is called kiryazhna talcs;
10. During 1946 anal 1947 all ships were nationalized and assigned to the administration
of Bulgarian River Navigation. The sugar factory in Ruse owns the following
ships t e a s' L Ho,~rgan the rotor boat, PoEls the motor ship ,m and
five barges, a d G and II A n v = ; T z 7 , and L( , (liege),
The Lazar Aron firm was also nationalized. This firm had five to six tank
barges, The Chi.prut firm had three to.four tank barges. The Benkovski f" +rm has
about four tank barges. The Petko Purkov firm had the motor boat Shuman and the
motor boat ;may (probably Dunav). These ships were, o ogatyed by the Navy.
The motor boat Qristo Botei also belonged to the Petko' Purkov firma the losif
Pinkas firm and the Boohko Sasanov firm owned the ZygD Vg oy, the barge 1,
and the barges Aida, kirin L-malin and V, tos . In 1951 the Bulgarian River
Navigation owned the following shipsa The motor, barge t which was 550 tons
and had a thousand horsepower, the motor barge Svishtov was also 550 tons and
a thousand horsepower, the motor barge was 550 tons and a thousand horsepower,
the motor barge vim, with 550 tons and a thousand horsepower, the barge Ruse
was taken out of the water in 1945, rebuilt, and-now has 800 horsepower. The
barges Svishto r, Lom, and Vidin, cannot work with more than 600 horsepower as the
engines are broken. 'These barges have refrigeration chambers and can transport
food, meat, lard, and other products. They serve the entire length of the
Danube and take goM' from Sulin (at the mouth of the Danube at the Black Sea) to
the German harbor Regensburg.,. The ships also load goods from foreign harbors
provided the latter pay for them. The crew of the above barges consist of 20 to
25 men,`', including the First Captain, Assistant Captain, a Controller who controls
visas, documents, and passports, a First Navigator, a Second Navigator, a
supply man who is in charge of the equipment and supply of the ship, three sailors,
five to six apprentices, a First and Second Mati3`st , four firemen, one cook, and
one supplyman. Danube ships never increase their craw. This happens only to sea-
going vessels. Other ships of the Bulgarian River Navigation on the Danube include
the motor bargE.,Or hovo rerith 350 tons and 150 horsepower. It operates only along
the share and doe;; not leave Bulgarian territorial waters. The motor barge
Koz_uv is 250 tons and 150 horsepower, operating only along the Bulgarian bank.
The. motor ship Pernk moves only in Ruse harbor. The prime mover ? is 150 tons
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and 250 horsepower and also operates only along the Bulgarian shore.
11. Two of the passenger ships on the Danube are the former Tsar. Boris which is now
called Georgi Dimitrov, 1,200 tons and one thousand horsepower, and the former
Tsaritsa Ioanna, now called Alexander Stambolivski, 1,200 tons and one thousand
horsepower. These two ships are equipped with radio and have cabins for first
and second clasp passengers. Each class has its own restaurant, coffee shop,
cabins and dormitories. The ships have sun decks used during, their summer
seasons. The second class has a motion picture theatre. Each ship carries
150 tons of freight and a,thousand passengers. The ships have the following
crew: A Commander, a First and Second Captain, A Purser, a Radioman, a
First, Second, and~.Third.Pilot, two - three apprentice pilots, one Boatswain,
four seamen, a Chief Mechanic, a First, Second, and Third Machinist, four
firemen, two secret agents, one supplyman and two to three specialists, who
are actually organs of the State Security.
12. The ns.eeenger steamships i1 E o , and Na have been renamed. They
are'300 ton ships with 250 horsepower, with two steam machines using coal. They
can take 400 passengers and have a first and second class. The first class
has special cabins, a coffee shop, and a restaurant. The ship may carry 15 to
20 tons of freight, with a crew of 20 to 22 persons.
13. Of the barges of the Bulgarian River Navigation which have previously been
owned by the state,the S aen is a 600-ton har7ee the Plovdit_ one thousand tons,
theVa four hundrer' toms,?.. that Turnovo 1,100 tons and the ,fir , 1,100
tons. The Czech shipyard homarno, as built M r,dw barges. They are 670 tons.
These barges are siw,werou us for example 96701 (the first figure 9 signifies
the 9th of September, the second, third, and fourth, figure designates the
tonnage of the barge (670) and the last number designates number of he barge
as for example one, '-ilo or three up to 14). . The covers (Kovertite) Zunidentifiedj
are welded and are, .:ailed Balbi. The barges use gasoline engines, are very
maneuverable and are equipped with two cranes of two tons capacity. They need
a depth of 2.10 m and their construction is poor. The Stalin shipyard built
eight, to 10 new barges of one thousand tons. They have the following serial
numbers: 9100016, 9100017, 9100018, etc. Again the first figure designates
the 9th of September and the following four designates the tonnage of the barge
and the rest designates the number of the barge itself which begins with 16.
These barges have cabins, a kitchen, and an office, and each has two two-ton
cranes. Two new pontoons were built for the Bulgarian River Navigation, whicht'
are 500 to 600 tons, during 1945 in Ruse. They have cabins, offices, a
dormitory for the crew, freight storage space, a kitchen, a passenger working
room and a coffee shop.
14. The Danube Engineer Section (Dunaveka Invhenerna Sektsiya) is separate from
the Bulgarian River Navigation. Headquarters are in Ruse. This section keeps
the Danube riverbed clean and maintains a certain depth in each harbor. It has
the following vessels: The'Taibur of 150 tons and M horsepower; the Rosits
a
of 150 tons and 120 horsepower,-the irjn of 50 tons and 60 horsepower; a ferry
called 4g#:ia frith 500 tons and one thousand horsepower. The last travels between
Ruse anc' Giurgiu acid has a crew of 12 persons. The second sailboat built on
three barges oi' 6UU to 700 tons can carry 48 full or empty railroad cars. This
ferryboat now operates between Vidin and Calafat. The section has 15 pontoons
with two boilers each, storage space, an office, cabins, and a kitchen. These
pontoons are stationed at certain points and harbors, mounted during the
Spring and dismounted in the Fall. They are used for land xrg ,passenger ships,
for loading barges and other vessels. The section has tw'b?diggers to maintain
a certain depth in the estuaries and to d:tr* now ones? The digging machine Vida has
a 600 horsepower engine and can d5J 500 kg of sand at one time. It includes
four pontoons for loading sand, earth, etc. '.ne digging machine, Yantra is
smaller and also has four pontoons,
15. The following Bulgarian naval vessels are on the Danube; the Chernornorets, a
small ship made of lumber and probably not over 30 tons; the Bel_ is also
a small ship of 25 tons; the D nav with an iron bottom is 20 tons. All of
these ships are used for training young sea .n for laying and sweeping mine fields.
They are armed with both light and heavy machine;uns and rifles. They are
practically always stationed or. anchored in Ruse harbor, which they leave only
for training purposes, an.(' they sail in Bulgarian waters., No Soviet ships have been
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noticed on the Danube, but the Bulgarian Navy has three small motorships on
the Danube. Their hulls are made of iron and they also serve for training purp es
with a crew of 30. New navy vessels are being built and some are brought from ~ne
Stalin Shipyards. Most of them are anchored in Ruse.,
16. The exported items from Danube harbors to the USSR and Satellites consist~.of
iron ore, wool, tobacco, wine, and fruit pulp, canned fruit, vegetables, eggs,
bread grains. (wheat,icorn:, barley, rye) beans, meat, rice, coal, hogs, chickens,
and'~, 1ard, Fruit and vegetables are transported to Czechoslovakia. Bulgaria
imports from Czechoslovakia are agricultural machinery, factory motors, spare
parts for agricultural machines, and trucks. Bulgaria exports to Hungary scrap
iron and imports barbed wire. Bulgaria exports to Poland grapes, apples, pears,
etc.
and imports small
tit
,
quan
ies of coke. East Germany exports to Bulgaria
machines for plants (this applies also to the USSR), construction machinery for
dams, electric machines, etc. :.Bulgaria-experts to East Germany bread grains,
fruit, oil and tobacco"'' There are occasions when expensive trucks come to
Bulgaria from Czechoslovakia. They are unloaded in Danube Harbors, mainly
Ruse, and later on are sent by means of railroad oars to Stalin from where they
continue to the USSR.
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