ROSTOCK HARBOR

• Document Type: CREST
• Collection: General CIA Records
• Document Number (FOIA) /ESDN (CREST): CIA-RDP83-00418R000700070001-2
• Release Decision: RIPPUB
• Original Classification: S
• Document Page Count: 33
• Document Creation Date: December 22, 2016
• Document Release Date: August 6, 2009
• Sequence Number: 1
• Publication Date: August 10, 1955
• Content Type: REPORT

Approved For Release 2009/08/06: CIA-RDP83-00418R000700070001-2
CLASSIFICATION
CEN rRAL INTELLIGENCE AGENCY
INFO 11 REPORT
COUNTRY
SUBJECT
PLACE
ACQUIRED
DATE OF
INFO.
East Germany
DATE DISTR.
10 A
at 1955
Rostock Harbor
NO4 OF PAGES
NO. OF ENCLS
28
INK m +dhO"AA13 6HPORRAmi AFPd=%0TB9 Awfos", am""
%P MR *off" Wneg VnVj% TNK an"IiG OP UR EBPIOHAOB ACT 54
I *. C., N AJI M As A79Fma".. as Tt"S? OW -w 7HH% RHUELATAlH
W "S COMMIS eb 1'MP TZ AS 38A3WWO IU PHNOM M "M
~mwb QM Laci M.Pft99L"F$'ffit OP Toth Pam RS FwR@ b
25 YEAR RE-REVIEW
SSIFICATIaN
(LUSTED BELOW)
SUPPLEMENT.TO
REPORT NO,
THIS IS UNEVALUATED INFORMATION
STATE
ARMY
NAVY
j AfR
NSRB
B9
DiSTRi13UTiCfV
25X1
_25X1
Approved For Release 2009/08/06: CIA-RDP83-00418R000700070001-2
 5 Approved For Release 2009/08/06: CIA-RDP83-00418R000700070001-2
Rostock Harbor
1o Genera:: Indication:
a. Location:
Rostock is located in 54?06?N/12?06,E, on the left bank of and
6 1/2 miles from the mouth of the Aarnow River, which is called
Unterwarnow (Lower '"Jarrow) between Rostock and its mouth. All
surrounding communities, including Wsrnerauende, were incorporated
into Rostock in the late 1940s- Prior to World War II, Rostock was
the largest port of Land Mecklenburg, and was called "Seestadt
Rostock"( Seaport Town of Rostock) to underline this claim.
Nevertheless, it never was of any importance as a maritime town,
whose inf l; ,?ance extended far into the interior of the country. As
to traffic volume, Rostock at present is the second East German port
after Wismar, while the averatie volume of incoming and outgoing vessels,
calling at Rostock is twice that of the vessels visiting Wiamar.
,Avertonnae: Rostock 1,896 GRT
.ismar 885 GRT
Roitcck allegedly has a population of 130,000 inhabitants.
b,, Turnovers
Principal export goods of Rostock harbor include coal (briquettes),
sugar, and cement, while the principal import goods are metals and
ores, foodstuffs and fertilizers, apart from a large quantity of mixed
cargo 0
C. Statistics:
Empty L ~s,an Total
r GET Number GRT Number GRT
Outgoing 285 200,580 283 309,244 568 569,824
in;omynZ 219 216,994 350 286,166 569 503,160
Loading and unloading service in Rostock is in the hands of the
Deutrans firm. Sufficient labor force is available,
2, Nautical Information:
a. 12proache s :
The narrow fairway of the Lower 'iarnow River stretches from the turning
basin almost exactly in a north-south direction as far off an
Marienehe? At this point a fairway branches off to the fishing combine.,
Other secondary channels lead to the slaughter house, the c>i harbor,
the Bramow power station and the shipyards,, Before reaching Marienehe,
the course of the channel gradually bends toward the east and, on
reaching the eastern sector of the town, eventually turns toward. the
east The fairway has a minimum depth of 6 meters. The width cf the
25X1
Approved For Release 2009/08/06: CIA-RDP83-00418R000700070001-2
 Approved For Release 2009/08/06: CIA-RDP83-00418R000700070001-2
Annex 1L
2
b . Anchorages:
Anchoring in the Warnow River is prohibited.
c. Tides, currents Ise conditions:
No changes of tides were observed in the Lower darnow River. The
current between Rostock and Warnemuende is not very strong as a rule, as
no large quantities of water have to be carried away from the upper reaches
of the river, the backwater at the Muehlendarnm lock and the width of the
Breitling having a compenaatin,; effect.
Between Rostock and Warnemuende the Warnow River freezes over much more
quickly than at the mouth of the river; although entirely ice-free winters
hardly ever are experienced, the navigable channel can be kept open by
icebreakers in most cases. The formation of ice generally begins at about
New Years Day (compact ice in December at the earliest). As a rule, the ice
disappears in mid-February, in exceptional cases also as early as January or
as late: as March.
30
d. Pilot service:
dredged channel nowhere exceeds 40 meters. East of the fairway, between
the south spit of the Kleiner Paganwerder islet and buoy G4, is the
Breitlin,,, a lake-like and in most places a shallow body of water, which is
navigated only by fishermen and water sportsmen (yachtsmen, oarsmen
canoeists) having good local knowledge
Vessels over 50 GRT must take a pilot.
Installations:
The harbor of Rostock is formed by the Warnow River. All harbor installations
are located on the left bank of the river and =?riCinated from the former
installation located in front of the former town walls;.
The fuel and. mineral oil harbor is separately located downstream near the
Bramow railroad station opposite the Gehlsdorf shipyard and the fishinf, combine
near Marienehe (for details, see under f).
a. ayes
The quay installations extend downstream from the elevator area to the
Neptun-Verft. The total quayage, excluding the elevator area, extends for
1,710 meted:, while the quayage of the elevator area is 470 meters long.
Details on the berths, sheds, storage yards, elevators and cranes.; are
shown in the numerical tables Nos 1 through 7a
Pictures Nos 1, 2 and 3 give an idea of the aspect of the harbor.
(For the railtracks, see Annex 2, plan of Rostock harbor).
b. Br1!s and Locks:
Traffic from seaward to Rostock is nowhere hindered by bridges or
locks. .Petri Bridge, located at the easternmost corner of the harbor,
practically constitutes its border on the upper reaches of the Warnow
River, a1thoua?h it is a bascule bridge with a vertical clearance
Approved For Release 2009/08/06: CIA-RDP83-00418R000700070001-2
 Approved For Release 2009/08/06: CIA-RDP83-00418R000700070001-2
of 4.16 and a horizontal cleara:ce of 14.C rmeters$, and therefore
theoretically per, itts passage as far as the lock.
The actual separation line between the Lower and the Upper Warnow
River is formed by the f.uehlendamm lock which establishes the
communication with the Upper larnow for inland water vessels,
The rests ctive dimensions of the lock, length by interior width by
depth, are 51.5 by 6.6 by 2.7 meters,
cS;i~?~rsrds:
The ::,eptun-+v'er.ft and the Gehlsdorf shipyard incorporated into it
will be dealt with separately.
d,:parisort facilities:
(For cranes and conve+or belts, see numerical data sub a.)'
Road vehicles: Road'4ehicles for harbor service include trucks,
e74ectric carts, some sedans and trailers, etc.
Shigs and service boats:
Ships and service boats available in 1952 included
4 Steam--powered tugboats of 160, 120, 60 and 48ihp respectively
2 diesel-powered launches
27. barges of different sizes.
In addition, the vessels of the waterway administration stationed
in the Rostock harbor district which, however, can be used elsewhere
in the Baltic Se.a, and some privately-owned vessels are available
f. The ~Marienehe Fishin Combine:
The premises of the fishing combine are located on the west bank
of the Warnow liver downstream from* Rostock in 5406 84N and 1205.2~E,
on the site of the former Heinkel-Werk between the Narnow River and
the Rostock-Warnemuende railroad line., Construction work on the new
installations started in 1950; the former Heinkel-Werk had been
destroyed or entirely dismantled. The :4arienehe fishing combine is
one of the state-owned East German fishing and fish-processing
plants (for catches landed from drifters and. trawlers),
About 600 worker. are employed. ashore. The leading .er: onnel has
frequently chr:nged for the reasons observed in 41 leading economic
circles in Fast German, as a result of the fact that party membership
ani toe-the-line reliability are considered r.;ore important than
expert professional knowledge. The result is tl,Ut such persons will
necessarily fail sooner or later because of the exaggerated demands
in the political.and propaganda field. The fishin,T fleet of the
Combine consists of 35 drifters and 6
trawlers Another three to six trawlers have
been ordered and are under construction.
The drifters are of the tyue developed for use in the Baltic, Sea, and
were built by the Volkswerft Stralsund (Stralsund Poo*. a Shipyard)
or by the Neptun-Werft in Rostock. Seven or eight drifters have
riveted hulls, while the others were welded,
Approved For Release 2009/08/06: CIA-RDP83-00418R000700070001-2
 Approved For Release 2009/08/06: CIA-RDP83-00418R000700070001-2
Annex 1 L
w, 4
Length over all
Length between
perpendiculars
Molded beam
:folded depth (at half
length)
Designed draft
Maximum draft aft
Engine power
Engine make
Designed displacement
Gross tonnage
Speed
L.O,AO - 38.5 meters
L.B P. * 34? 1,
7.2 "
M. D. 3..5
D;, 2,9
D max aft = 3?4
300 EHP
Buckau-Wolf f
D.D. m about 400 tons
GT m 280 GRT
9.4 knots
Crews Master 2 mates, 2 engineers, 2 assistant engineers, 1 cook,
1 radio operator, 1 apprentice and 5 fishermen,
The vessels are equipped with radio telegraphy, echo sounder, some of
them with an echograph (depth recorder ) and spa 80-Watt transmit/receive
equipment for radio messages.
The trawlers, all built in East Germany, were constructed either by the
Polkswe: ft Stralsund or by the Neptun-'Yerft in Rostock.,
Length over all
L.,COA.
- 58.7 meters
Length between
perpendiculars
L CB,P.
- 52.0
Molded beam
MO
- 9.0 "
Molded depth
- 5.0 "
Designed draft
D
4.0
Designed displacement
des.
Displ..
- about 1,000 tons
Three drifters form a "brigade". The "Brigadier" the politically and
professionally responsible leader of the brigade) is stationed on one
of the three vessels. While maintaining contact by radio telephorw the
brigades fish independently;, The order to put back to harbor is given
exclusively by the brigadier. A trained first-aid man is embarked
on each of the two drifters "Geschwister School " and another drifter.
In ordinary circumstances these two drifters participate in the fishing
operations breaking them off, howev=or, as soon as medical assistance
is required.
Che shipyards available in Rostock, Stralsund, Wismar and Gehlsdorf are
used as general overhaul and repair yards foe these vessels. The annual
periodical repair has been fixed at four weeks, but until now, has been
actually exceeded in each case.
The harbor installations consist of a berthing basin cut from the
Warnow River into the land by dredging. It extends for about 300 meters
from the river bank into the land and is about 200 meters wide (see
Annex 3). It allegedly is 8 meters deep, and in a place near the serard
end of the< north quay is a flat, only 3.6 meters deep, where mooring
is prohibited.
The quays are constructed of wooden piles with a concrete surface about
10 meters wide.. A mobile sleviin, 5-ton portal crane (made by the Leipzig;
firm of Bleichert) is located on the south quay. It was erected in 1954
Approved For Release 2009/08/06: CIA-RDP83-00418R000700070001-2
 Approved For Release 2009/08/06: CIA-RDP83-00418R000700070001-2
SECRET
Annex 1 L
-5
The combine has good conneotionewith the Rostock-"varnemuende railroad
line, the street car lines and the street network.
The fishing vessels land their catches straight into the fish storing
sheds by means of conveyor belts alongside the north quay immediately
after their arrival. The fish are sacked into wooden c ases and subsequently
shipped. No salt fish is prepareu there, since the summer of 1954.: Rotten
fish is processed in-,o fish meal in a plant which was only recently
completed. Ice is supplied by the ice-making plant located on the north
quay .
The construction of a second harbor basin for landing catches fro:
trawlers allegedly is planned to be carried out north of the airet.1,y,
existing one. For the location and purpose of the buildings see Aa ex 3.
Picture 4 gives a view from the fishin; harbor looking up river
Connection with the Interior of the Country:
a. Railroad:
Rostock is linked with the interior of the country by single track
railroad lines running in all main directions "'he stretch ling, in it
with Warnemuende, on which one of the two tracks had been removed
by the Soviets, as on all other lines in East Germany, has
meanwhile been reconstructed as a double track line as far as
.
Bra.mow.
b. Road connections:
Road connections with the interior issuing from Rostock are bad.
Former Reich strassen (national roads) runninj from Rostock in various
directions are I
Reich strasse 100 running to Demmin in an easterly direction
"" 103 Guestrow in a southeasterly direction
it 104 Warnemuende in a northwesterly direction
it 105 " " Stralsund in a northeasterly direction
All other country roads leaving Rostock can be considered only as
sections of the local Mecklenburg road system,.
c. Inland water ys:
The upper reaches of the y?arnow River with the Nebel River are the only
inland waterway connection linking Rostock with the interior of the
country.
Length
Width of Scheduled depth
in km
bed (M) i
l..
Lower 'arnow and Petri bridge-
1C0
25
5.0
lock canal Muehlendamm
1.0
canal
;> r0
Lock (Rostock)-
widtk
Buetzow harbor
Warnow River Muehlendamm
37.6
14
2.0
Lock (Rostock)-
37.6
2.0
Buetzow harbor
Nebel River Buetzow-Guestr
ow
15.4
10
1,;5
1
harbor
15.4
1.5
1
downstream from Guestrow the Nebel River is very silty:,
Approved For Release 2009/08/06: CIA-RDP83-00418R000700070001-2
 Approved For Release 2009/08/06: CIA-RDP83-00418R000700070001-2
This waterway wives access only to rural districts and is of very
little importance as a link with Rostock for the carriage of
supplies.
d. Air Traffic:
Rostock is not an air traffic center.
Transshipment fi Kress
The 19"1 transshipment figures were:
2589440 tons of incoming goods
843,978 tons of outgoing goods
Tot4.1 1,102,426 tons
RreskirtA dcwn as follows:
Kinds of goods
Briquettes
469,771 tons
Mixed cargo
332,322 "
87,647 tons
Grain
20,098
Sugar
5,778 tt
Onions
5,409
Building materials
5,302
5,016
Methylated alcohol
5,071
Motor vehicles
997
42 YY
Foodstuffs
249
7,429
Paraffin
2,081
Total (outgoing)
847,978 tons
Metals and ores
63,552
Grain
70,827
Fertilizers
5,070
Crude :rubber
4,922
Felspar
3,273
Cellul,Dse and paper
2,858
Soda
2,602
Cotton
2,301
Oil seed (coiza)
600
Fish meal
527
Naphtalinc
391
Lumber
2 55
Total (incoming)
258,442 tons
6. u 1 iya Facilities:
a~ Oil fuel:
An. oil fuel tank installation is located/t pstream from the fishing
ccmbine near the Rostock-Braow railroad stations For a layout sketch,
see Annex 3~ The tank installation is visible in the center of
picture No 4~
Approved For Release 2009/08/06: CIA-RDP83-00418R000700070001-2
 Approved For Release 2009/08/06: CIA-RDP83-00418R000700070001-2
Annex 1 L
7 ..
b. Coal is obtainable at the coal wharf.
c. Water can be tapped from the hydrunts of the municipal water mains,,
70 Protectiong`Safet; Measures and qR lations.
The harbor is surrounded by a wire fence with watchtowers running along
the two streets of "Varnow Ufer" ('y='arnow promenade) and "Am Strande"
(Beach Street). For details see plan (Annex 2).
b. Police:
A sea-border police command is garrisoned in Rostock; no floating units,
however, are stationed there.
Police headquarters I, including the criminal police section, and the
administration section are accommodated on Massmannstrasse.
Police headquarters II is accommodated on "Patriotischer +Veg".
8. Armed Forces.
a. Na y:
aa. German Sea Police:
No floating forces are stationed in Rosbck. The only shore-based
unit in Rostock is the sea police headquarters.
ab. Soviet Navy:
;j_
;`While no floating forces of the Soviet Navy are stationed in Rostock,
the Neptun-Verft is employed for the overhaul of and repair work
to Soviet vessels,. in particular ex-German booty ships. No shore-based
Soviet naval units are stationed in Rostock, but an administration
office of the Soviet Navy is quartered in fostock.Bramow.
b. Air Force:
No Soviet or East German air force units are stationed in Rostock.
c. ArnT,:
ca. East German garrisoned o,,oli~: e:
An infantry regiment of the garrisoned people's police and a staff
unit of the reserve border wolice are' stationed in Rostock.
cb Soviet arc: unit:
A Soviet anti-tank brigade is stationed in Rostock.
Approved For Release 2009/08/06: CIA-RDP83-00418R000700070001-2
 Approved For Release 2009/08/06: CIA-RDP83-00418R000700070001-2
Annex 1.
9 3ummait Comment:
Rostoc.: harbor is an important fast German port of entry. Although it is
located at some distance from the sea, it is easily accessible to medium-
-size vessels at any time. However. nff nrfa mnr'r. .r, pw to deepen the
nbanne'l to over 6.5 and 7 meters
which demanded heavy expenditure for the relatively narrow fairway,
will hardly be successful in the long run, even in the case of still
heavier expenditure. It is therefore hardly probable that Rostock will
ever become the terminal port for comparatively heavy overseas traffic with
ships of 6,000 dwt and over, as official propaganda emphasized again and
again. In addition, it must be noted that the maintenance of the harbor
and its approaches is relatively expensive because of the constant dredging
operations, that the distance from seaward to the harbor is rather long, and
that the harbor of Rostock in its present shape cannot be expanded.
It even seems impossible to expand the shore installations because they are
located just under the walls of the town.
Any projects providing a large-scale planning near Schmarl (about 4.5
kilometers downstream from the Neptun- erft) will not practically be
possib:Le because of the financial situation of East Germany and of the
imposs:ability of building up an efficient export industry in East Germany.
Approved For Release 2009/08/06: CIA-RDP83-00418R000700070001-2
 Approved For Release 2009/08/06: CIA-RDP83-00418R000700070001-2
Le end to Rostock Harbor.
Annex 2L
- 2 -
A Lower Tarnow River
B - Flaedge harbor
C - Coal wharf
D - Gravel harbor (Kieshafon)
E - :achenufer
F - Eschenbruecke
G - Nabutzenhof quay
H Fishermen's quay
- Ore quay
d - C.hristinenharbc with various light wooden landing stages
K - Schniokmanne-Bridge
L - S;,hnickrnanns Quay
N - Lsgertor Quay
N - MDenchentor Quay
0 - Elevator (silo) site
O1 - west quay
02 - Transverse quay
03 - East quay
1 - Stevedoring building
2 - Warehouse
3 - Store house No 13
4 t0 it No 12
5 - fP it No 11
6 - to No 10
No 9 ) Enclosed storehouses (except for Nos 8, 9 and
8 - Roofed store yard No 1
9 )
10)a. For details, see numerical table No 24
Approved For Release 2009/08/06: CIA-RDP83-00418R000700070001-2
 Approved For Release 2009/08/06: CIA-RDP83-00418R000700070001-2
Annex 2 L
- 3 -
12 .-
Storehouse No 5
L:iclosed storehouses (except for Nos
2, 9 and 10). For details, see numerical
13
No 4
table No 2.
14
No 3
15
No 2
16
17
Derrick crane
18
Full portal crane
19
Portal crane
20
6-ton loading bridge
20a
6-ton
For details, see numerical
20b
10-ton 9f IM
)
table No 5.
21
Loading bridge with luffing crane )
)
-
22
G
fi /F tl 11
9P
1
23
Harm orhead crane
)
24 -
5-ton loading bridge
)
)
25
4-ton full portal crane
)
26
4-ton portal luffing crane
)
27 -
Elevators No 1 (silo) )
Not )
)
29
No 3 )
No 4 )
For details, see numerical table No 4.
)
31
No 5 )
32 -
Rarbor fence with watchtowers
33 -
Watchtower
34 -
Main entrance to port with guard room
35
Storage place No 35 )
36 -
No 34
For details see numerical table No 3.
)
3`T -
No 32 )
5
38 -
No 31 )
1
A q
1
1
No 26 )
)
No 25 )
Approved For Release 2009/08/06: CIA-RDP83-00418R000700070001-2
 Approved For Release 2009/08/06: CIA-RDP83-00418R000700070001-2
SECR.
Annex 2 to
- 4 -
41 - Storage place No 24
42 -
43 -
44 -
45 -
46
47 ,.
48
49 -
to it
to it
ff to
it Of
19 It
it it
to
of
52
No 16
No 15
No 14
No 12
No 11
No 7
No 6
No 5
No 4
No 2
No 1
For details see numerical table No 3
53 - Eschenbruecke
54 - Shed
55 - Personnel's room
56 - Office room
57 - Personnel9s room and office
- Harbor fire service with berth for fire float under floating shed
59 - Harbor 1"fster's office and pilot station
60 - Police station
61 - First-aid station
62 - 'a'eighinz; machine
Mess room (low wooden building)
64 Kitchen
65 .,. Personnel's room
66 - Garage and workshop for motor carts
Approved For Release 2009/08/06: CIA-RDP83-00418R000700070001-2
 " Approved For Release 2009/08/06: CIA-RDP83-00418R000700070001-2
Annex 3 L
- 2
,e end -,to Marie.neheRostock.
This sketch is not to scale and only represents a rough layout of
the plants.
A~ The Rostock Fishing Combine
1 Ice-making plant
2 Provisions store
3 +orkshop
4 Fish curing plant (140 x 30 m)
5 :1arbor basin of 140 x 200 meters surface, 6 to 6.5 meters deep)
6 --ton traveling quay crane
7 Administration building
8 Off ice
9 Fish storage hall
10 Ice-making plant (daily output: 50 tons)
11 Fish-meal plant
12 Cold storage house
13 Kitchen
14 Marienehe railroad station
15 Combine school
1.6 Fish processing plant
I3,, The RostoehZBramo!r oil tank dew fat.
17 m 5 vertical oil tanks
1.8 - 1 horizontal oil tank
19 .. Dwelling and administration buildings
20 - Low flat-roofed brick buildings ..unidentified.(
Approved For Release 2009/08/06: CIA-RDP83-00418R000700070001-2
 ` Approved For Release 2009/08/06: CIA-RDP83-00418R000700070001-2
Annex 4
- 2
Picture No 1: View from Gehlsdorf ferry looking southeast
1 - Elevator (silo) No 3
3 - of
4 - Storehouse No 1 at Moenchentor
5 - Sts Peterae church
6 - Storehouse No 2 at Moenchentor Qua3v
7 ? Loading bridge (crane No 2) at Schnickmanns Quay
6 - Nikolai Church
9 - St. Mary's Church
Picture No 2: View from the Gehlsdorf yacht-club buildings looking
southeast (picture taken in 1940)-
7 - Loading bridge (crane No 2) at Schnickmanns QUaY
9 - ;t,, Mary n s Church
10 - Monastery Church
11 - Coal wharf
Picture No 3: View from Moenchentor Quay looking at elevator site Waken in
1940)
1 Elevator No 3
12 - Houses in Rostock - Bartelsdorf
13 - Elevator No 4
Picture No 4: View from the north bank of the Marienehe fishing harbor
Warnow River (The two drifters "BERLIN"
and"WELTJUGENDTREF E-111" of the fishing combine
foreground).
9 - St. Mary ?.s Church
10 - Without spire
15 - Shipyard Gehlsdorf
16 - Town district io3tock-Gehlsdorf
17 Roman Catholic Church
18 - Sriokostack of Naptun Yard
Approved For Release 2009/08/06: CIA-RDP83-00418R000700070001-2
 ` Approved For Release 2009/08/06: CIA-RDP83-00418R000700070001-2
Annex 4
_5
19 - Power station Rostock-Bramow
20 - New tank depot with six tanks near 4arienehe
21 - Southern quay of fishing harbor
Approved For Release 2009/08/06: CIA-RDP83-00418R000700070001-2
 Approved For Release 2009/08/06: CIA-RDP83-00418R000700070001-2
15
Snoii;n;a';ion o:' river cuotion
ruielse/Rostock
Approved For Release 2009/08/06: CIA-RDP83-00418R000700070001-2
t i- r r t` T
Approved For Release 2009/08/06: CIA-RDP83-00418R000700070001-2
Annex 3
 I'
Marie>else/Rostock
Approved For Release 2009/08/06: CIA-RDP83-00418R000700070001-2
t i- r r t` T
Approved For Release 2009/08/06: CIA-RDP83-00418R000700070001-2
Annex 3