SOVIET WATER TRANSPORT INDUSTRY, APRIL 1954

• Document Type: CREST
• Collection: General CIA Records
• Document Number (FOIA) /ESDN (CREST): CIA-RDP80-00809A000700200004-3
• Release Decision: RIPPUB
• Original Classification: C
• Document Page Count: 16
• Document Creation Date: December 22, 2016
• Document Release Date: August 31, 2011
• Sequence Number: 4
• Publication Date: August 23, 1954
• Content Type: REPORT

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CLASSIFICATION CONFIDENTIAL
CENTRAL INTELLIGENCE AGENCY REPORT
INFORMATION FROM
FOREIGN DOCUMENTS OR RADIO BROADCASTS CD
SUBJ:CT Economic - Transportation, water
HOW
PUBLISHED Daily newspapers, book
,......` ,ago ` . .. ,..M~ .
DATE DIST. , 3 Aug 1,5L,
NO. OF PAGES ib
SUPPLEMENT TO
REPORT NO.
THIS IS UNEVALUATED INFORMATION
SOVINI' WATER TRANSPORT INDUSTRY. APRIL 1954
[In the following report, the geographic coordinates of locations,
where given, were taken from the German General Staff maps of Eastern
Enrope 1:300,000, sheet A-48. These locations are all on file and
verified by the Department of the Interior, although the Lo_ation_ rrjy
not appear or may be incorrect in the NIS Preliminary Gazetteer.
Numbers in parentheses refer to appended sources.] .
PLsns and Preparations as 1954 Navigation Season Opens
Ac a result of laxity on the part of Glavtsentroflot and the chiefs of iti
Volga River steamship lines, Saburov and Seleznev, there are more than a hun-,
shed ships (diesel and steam vessels, barges, depot ships, and dredges) still
vc iting to be prepared for navigation in yards and repair chops of the Volga
Freight and Volga Freight and Passenger steamship lines.
Numerous paddle steamers, which are to sail to the Vyatka River as soon as
the ice breaks nn the Kama River, are being prepared for service very slowly in
the if rd iineni. Kuybyshev (director Koleskin). Work is also progressing slowly
on the b/S Orel in the Pamyat' Parizhal:oy Kcmmury Yard, although this ship is
to bFgtn service ^n the upper Vetluga River as soon as navigation is possible.
The Clr,=_topol' Yard (director Leznov) has not even supplied the cylinder liners
for tl:a eneine of this ship as yet. At the Vladimirovl:a Yard, only about 1'- of
:.ho )0 1ar c:~ that wintered there have been readied for navl6tiLiun.
lure basic deficiency at the present time, and the cause of much ci this
delay, is the poor supply of materials to the repair enterprise..
The Aet.raltan' Yard imeni Uritski.y is a main wintering base for refriger for
but with the navigation season about to open in Astrukhan', the yard liar:
;;Ill.'. tnt received a supply of calcium chloride without which the snnirs' rofric-
-aio:s mu.:n yard is also oh "-t' !a., 1 ;1%.' r:c' ?
FATE
ARMY
CLASSIFICATION CONFIDENTIAL
NAYS 7T
NSR- s DISTRI6UTIDN
AIR FBI _
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'L11 DENTIAL
and white pigment; yet, none of the directors of the Volga Freight and Passenger
Steamship Line (least of all, the chief of the Material and Technical Supply Divi-
sion, Mysnik) concern themselves in the least about this matter. The Yard Pa.ngyat'
Parizhskoy Kommur,; (of the same line) is also held up on repair work by ?bortages
of
nporthole glass, gas pipe, electric equipment, and "raventukh" [probably "ra-
- canvas],
The situation in the enterprises of the Volga Freight Steamship Line is no
better. The Vladimirovka Yard, where many wooden barges are repaired, has been
left without sufficient quantities of lumber. In the next few days, 18 barges
are to be put into dock there (of which 13 must have their stem and stern posts
replaced), but there is no wood for these repairs, nor are there supplies of
porthole glass, sulfuric acid for batteries, or many other materials. Such ma-
terial shortages also exist in the Krasnoarmeysk Yard. Diesel vessels which
wintered in quarters at this yard have not had their electric systems and ther-
mometers sufficiently repaired, and they cannot be fully prepared for navigation
until spare parts for 18-D and 2-Ch engines are supplied. The director of the
Krasnoarmeysk Yard, Aksenov, and his chief engineer, Grigur'yev, have poorly
organized work at the yard all winter.
Failures such as these can be seen throughout the yerds, steamship lines,
and the main administration. The Yard imeni Kuybyshev does not have sufficient
quantities of rope, - a basic need. Steamships which are to get up steam in the
near future are not fully manned by firemen, and in the Alekseyev Shops it is
not even clear Just how ships will be bunkered so that they may leave the shops.
The director of the shops, Belyanichev, has requested, and rightfully so, that
Glavtsentroflot and Glavnefteflot (Main Administration of the Petroleum Fleet)
discuss the bunkering of these ships by the Volgotanker ship S/S Burevestnik
without delay.
In the Kuybyshev Yard only 14 ships have been prepared for navigation, while
35 self-propeilt-i vessels, 19 non-self-propelled ships, and 13 depot ships are
still waiting for repairs. This fault is compounded by the ;apt that the ships
not ready for service are heavy capacity diesel cargo ships, the ones which will
be needed at the outset of the navigation season.(1)
Navigation began on the lower Volga River about 11 April with the cruise of
the M/V Serzhant Pavlov from Astrald.an' to the village of Olya [45-48 N 47-31 E].
(2)
Further north, navigation began on the Volga and Oka rivers with the passen-
ger ship S/S Volga under way on her first trip of the year on 26 April. The ship
was carrying 300 passengers and her holds were loaded with cor.sumer goods. At
about the same time, the cargo-passenger ship S/S Sergo Ordzh,mikidze was dis-
patched on the first trip to Shcherbakov, and the S/S Grigori;' Pirogov and the
S/S Nekrasov began the trip along the Oka River toward Moscow.,3)
The regular navigation of passenger steamers began on the up,'er Volga River
around 15 April with railings between Yaroslavl' and Tutayev by the S/S Nekrasov,
S/S Perekop, and S/S Merkuriy. On 17 April the passenger ship S/S h,-~khanik sailed
from Yaroslavl' for Shcherbakov, while the S/S Zlatovratskiy began the trip
tween the same cities in the opposite direction.(4)
The Volgotanker Steamship Line sill
Derbeshkinskiy a:_3 Ufa-Kemsl:oye Ust'ye, when theeiceoclnew ears. Thesenl:.nesfwill
operate 11 steamships, and petroleum shipping and rsneivine points wi'dl he nro-
vided with "n" 'Punches and a new depot ship, the hull of the old diesel vessel
Kronshtadt.(5)
CONFTDEPITIAL
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In ;ldition to petroleum shipment the Volgotarker Steamship Line will
undertal4. he transport of agricultural cargoes in 1954, employing fast tankers
for this purpose.(6)
The navigation season has also opened on the Kara River where the river
-workers are to transport 2,230,000 tons more cargo in 1954 than in 1953. The
shipment of consumer goods is to increase by 65 percent, and 2,245 000 cubic
meters more timber will be shipped than in 1953. Tows of timber rafts will be
uispatched downstream at 3-4 hour intervals.
The Kama Steamship Lines' fleet has been increased to a considerable extent
allowing the opening in May of a regular passenger run along the Molotov Reser-
voir. In adSition, passenger ships will be sent for the first time along the
Chusovaya River, a considerable portion of which is now navigable.(7)
Some local passenger service began unusually early this year in Moscow,
with the passenger vessel M/V No 16 opening navigation between Kozhukhovo and
Nogatine around 19 March. A river icebreaker was called upon to open the channel
for th- first trip.(8) Freight movement did not begin on the Moscow River until
7 April, when eight tows left South Port (Moscoti', with the tug S/S KU-1 among the
first.(9) On 1 May, a suburban line wi
necting Moscow
and Faustovo. The i be opened along the to Moscow River con-
workers who deliver produce to the line is
markets di iserve kolioz
nthecapital. Two Moskvichltype
cutters will operate on the run with stops at Andreyevka, Myachkovo, Zaozer'ye,
Sof'ino, Markovo, Bronnitsy, Ryblovo, Faustovo, and other places.(10)
The M/V Aleksandr Matrosov opened the navigation season in Leningrad when
it was moved from the ship repair yard to the loading pier in order to lift a
cargo of plywood. On 29 April, the S/S Valday moored at the port's first section
to deliver a cargo of consumer goods, and on the same date the S/S Beloostrov
arrived with passengers and freight for the ca.ining inductry after a London-
Stockholm-Helsinki-Leningrad `rip. On 1 May, the S/S Borodino was approaching
the port with ccnoumer goods.(11)
In the Ncrtt,western River Basin, the navigation season opened around the end
of March as the p ssenger shin S/S Arzaras opened service along the Neva River.
(12 )
As of 10 March the navigation season had not begun on the rivers of the
Latvian SSR, but the icebreaking tugs Matres, Salyut, Vents, Lachpiesis, and
others have been repaired ahead of schedule and are ready to begin operations.
The Latvian river fleet is being increased by 17 new ships in 1954, and new cranes
are being installed in river pbrts.(13)
Vessel traffic began on the rivers of the Belorussian SSR around 18 April,
with freight movement on the Dnepr, Pripyat', Henan, and Berezina rivers. Serv-
ice has also begun on the small rivers of the republic including the upper Oressa,
Svisloch', and Usvyacha [empties into the Zapadnaya Ovine at 55-26N and 30-46E].
(i4)
The M/V Minsk. towing four barges loaded with construction materials, opened
the season on the Dnestr River on 26 March.(15) The M/V Moskva and the M/V Shtorm
sailed from Bendery about the same time on their first trips of the year. The
Dnestr River evpeots to handle 1.5 times as much freight in 1954 as in 1953.(16)
On 9 April the navigation season opened on the Don River with the sailing
of the tug S/S Smol'nyy with a to of three barges and two floating cranes to be
del'-vered to the stati , at Semi ka rakorskaya [47-3311 and 40-1t3E]. On about the
same date the passenger vessel M/V Moskvich was sent on its first trip to thr
stations at Otaro-Cher1 sslaya [47-1411 and 40-02E], Bagayevs1zya 147-20N and 40-
24EJ, and Yelizavettns}xya.(17)
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The Black Sea Steamship Company has announced that it will begin operating
on the new spring and summer schedules as of 1 April. The passenger ships
Rossiya, Pobeda, Gruziya, and Ukraina will sail on the Crimea-Caucasus Line,
making the run from Odessa to Batumi in 3 days instead of 4 days as in the
past. Ships will sail daily on the Odessa-Kherson and Odessa-Nikolayev lines
during the summer, and a new line, Odessa-Khorly-Skadovsk, will be opened to
link Odessa with the agricultural areas of the Dnepr River.
Since the Volga-Don Canal makes large volume passenger traffic possible
from north to south, the Black Sea Steamship Company has organized regular
express service to the resort cities with a line connecting Odessa, Zhdanov,
and Sochi. Ships operating on this line will stop at Yevnatoriya, Sevrstopol',
Yalta, Feodosiya, Kerch', and other cities. Departures will be made from
Zhdanov every 4 days.(1)
Vessel traffic began along the Amu-Darya River in the last week of March.
The M/V No 45 made the first voyage of the year into Turkul' on 23 March (18),
and in the lower section of the river the season was begun by the S/S Molotov
(sent to Kara_Kalpakiya with fuel), S/S Gromov, M/V Gogol', and M/V Nekrasov.
(19)
In the eastern basins'~ the USSR, Glavvostokflot (Main Administration cf
the Eastern Basins Fleet and Ports) reported as early as November 1953 that
measures were being taken to prepare for the 1954 navigation season. A 25-ton
crane for handling heavy articles including agricultural machinery, was assembled
and put into operation in Novosibirsk, and ships destined for grain shipments on
the Ob', Yenisey, and Irtysh rivers were prepared for navigation. The chief of
the Operations Division of Glavvostokflot, Ichalovskaya, reported that the prob-
lem of speeding rail-water combined shipments was being studied, and that new
self-propelled cargo ships would be put into service in 1954 to handle small
consignments of grain on the Lower Irtysh and West Siberian s+_amship lines.(20)
By the end of April, the river workers of the Yer.isey River were making
final preparations for the navigation season. In 1954 Liie Yenisey Steamship
Line is increasing its number of express cargo lines and is assigning ten addi-
tional diesel vessels to operate on them. One of the lines will connect Sorokino,
Krasnoyarsk, and Yeniseysk. On the downstream trip along this line cargoes will
be carried to newly cultivated areas, and on the return trip upstream agricul-
tural produce will be delivered to the large centers of the region.
To augment these new lines and the genera]. increase in the number of ships
operating on the river, 14 new shipping points will be opened.(11) This ex-
pansion in facilities on the Yenisey River is expected to handle 35 percent more
cargo in 1954 than in 1953, with a corresponding increase of 43 percent in traf-
fic on small rivers of the [Krasnoyarsk] kray.(14) The Yenisey Steamship Line
has already reached agreements with MTS, kolkhozes, and other organizations for
the transport of more titan 8,000 tons of agricultural cargo.
Passenger traffic on the river is also being expanded, with emphasis on
service to kolkhoz workers. At various points along the river, 12 new stations
are being opened for the transit passenger fleet and 38 new stops for the local
cutter fleet.(11) A new passenger line is being opened along the Nizhnyaya
Tunguska River [65-4711 and 89-58E], and in the far n-th regular passenger serv-
ice between Igarka and Ostrow Dikson (Dikson Islaria) will be inaugurated.(21)
On 18 April the flagship of the fleet, M/V losif StAlin, was prepared for naviga-
tion and was expected to sail with passengers to Dudinka as soon as navigation
opened.(14)
e
54 wit mailings begiuhing River has had
about p 1 of naviCation in
of Tobolsk unusual
the area a
section 9of theh
river furtner south, between Omsk and Pavlodar, remains frc en. The S/S Stalin-
grad made the fnrmt trip of the year from Tobol'sk on 4 May carrying wood products
._J
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to Mostovoye, and on the next day the S/S Admiral Ushakov delivered two barges
of agricultural machinery from Tyumen' to Tobol'sk.(22) In the upper reaches
of the Irtysh River, the season opened on 26 April with the sailing of the S/S
Budenniy and S/S Mayakovskiy, each with a tow of fuel barges
(ll)
.
Throughout the USSR, preparations are under way for the annual spring
float which will begin as soon as the rivers are cleared of ice. Thousands of
trucks and tractors are engaged timber
as Of the beginning rain bringing logs into position for flc, ing, and,
as floated than ?ineo feMarch, 2 million cubic meters more timber were ready to
ready at this same time in 1953.
The transport of timber through the Volga-Don Canal will be increased to a
considerable extent this year, and timber rafts will be delivered to
Aral Sea for the first time.(23)
ports in the
The Ministry of Timber and Paper Industry is making every attempt to mecha-
nize timber handling this year and among other things is adding almo new
towing cutters to the fleet. (11 st 400
Port Activities
If water transport in the USSR is to realize its planned increase in freight
volume, port facilities must be increased simultaneously with expansion of fleet
size and activity. These facilities can be increased either by broadening mecha-
nization of cargo working equipmennew , increasing the efficiency of methods and
workers, or the construction of and expansion of old
ports.
The first of these possibilities is being carried out with great vigor as
evidenced by the fact that the sea and river ports of the USSR had 4.3 times more
portal cranes and 6.33 times more floating cranes in 1933 than in 1940.(24)
This mechanization of cargo working operations has had a significant effect
on the productivity of a port's workers and facilities. In the port of Aral'sk,
for examn)e. thousands of tons of rrain nass throur?h t'?- nl.-t R mna
be transferred from railroad cars to water transport. In the lly and o st
from 15 t~ 16 stevedores was assignee to each freight car and carried a crew of
grain from the cars to a conveyer which ran to barges. The veaged sacks distance
these bags had to be carried by hand was from 20-30 g Using gt ismth
the cargo transferred during a shift did not exceed 10-12sttons per man.
Inod,
1953 the engineers of the port decided to mechanize this process. In addition
to the conveyers running out from the railroad cars at a 90 degree angle, they
placed ..other conveyer running longitudinally along the cars and immediately
next to them. At those points where the grain bags were to transfer from the
longitudinal conveyer to the ones running out from the freight cars to the
barges, the engineers installed dumping plates at a 40 degree angle to the move-
ment of the bags. Thus it was possible to transfer the bags from one conveyer
to the other without the use of hand labor.
Under this system, the stevedores work only inside the freight cars, throw-
ing bags on an inclined board down which they-Slide to the conve cars
may be worked simultaneously. yer. Four
This new method has doubled the output of each stevedore during a shift,
and some gangs have transferred as much as 36 and 33 tons per man in a shift.
A single stevedore gang can now unload not one but two cars at the same time
and do it in 20-30 minutes for an average car, or 40-6o minutes for a large capae-
ity car.(25)
5-
CONFI DRMAh
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In spite of these successes, however, there are cases where equipment is
originally provided but for various reasons can not be fully exploited. In
Tobol'sk, for example, a group of battery driven trucks (EK-2 type) was sent
to aid in cargo working in 1949. But for the past 3 years the trucks have been
out of service because the rubber tires are worn out. The wheels could not be
restored to service at the yard so they were sent to the steamship line's
(Lower Irtysh Steamship Line) warehov,e with the assurance that they would be
returned during the 1953 navigation season. As of April 1954, however, they had
not been returned and the port is now appealing to the Minister of the Maritime
and River Fleet to supply the port with tires and batteries for six trucks of
the EK-2 type.(5)
Where equipment is available and intelligently used, however, the increase
in cargo handled by a port is readily apparent. In the port of Ventspils, where
cargo working operations are almost entirely mechanized, the amount of cargo
being worked is more than double the 1948 level and the productivity of labor
has tripled.(26)
A. Botongov, chief of Novosibirsk port, reports that the port there worked
almost 2.5 tires as much cargo in 1953 as in 1950, with more than 80 percent of
it being handled by machinery.
In the north, the ports of Arkhangelsk, Mezen', and Onega fulfilled their
yearly plans, and the port of Arkhangelsk recorded a profit of 12,316,000 rubles
for the navigation season.(27)
In Riga, mechanization has made it possible for each stevedore to work an
average of 37 tons of cargo during a shift as compared to 7 tons per man in 1946.
(24)
The kinds of cargo machinery in use in Soviet sea ports can be reen in the
following table which indicates that part of the total which was worked by various
types of gear in ports of the [former] Ministry of the Maritime Fleet in 1949.(29)
Tie of Gear
Portal and semi-portal cranes
Percentage of Total Mechanically
Handled Cargo
Crawler cranes
54.00
Truck-mounted cranes
15.40
Railroad cranes
1.64
Floating cranes
7.00
Fork-lift trucks
3.60
Other types of cranes
2.34
Coal and ore loaders
2.37
2.00
Mechanical and pnuematic grain unloaders
0.50
Mechanized grain warehouses (mekhembary)
Conveyers
2.15
Other equipment
7.50
1.50
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In Novosibirsk, there has been an increase in mechanization of cargo working
ands in addition, new construction has been carried out. Two new piers are ready
there for the expected increase in cargo shipments during 1954, and for the port
as a whole about 95 percent of all cargo handled during the year will be handled
by machinery.(30)
New construction will also raise water transport in the Volga River region
with the construction of a first class mechanized river port at Kazan,. Over
2 million cubic meters of earth have been removed from the port site there, and
in 1954 the first 100 meters of cargo piers will be built. On 6 April dredge
No 308 arrived at the site to begin construction of a breakwater, and suction
dredge No 313 arrived several days earlier to build a breakwater in the area of
the future passenger station.(31)
There are many areas where expansion must still be carried out due in some
part to changes in the economic structure of the area. In the past, for example,
the Upper Irtysh Steamship Line has done very little transporting of agricultural
machinery and produce, hauling instead mostly salt, ore, coal, and other such bulk
goods. With the opening of 844,000 hectares of virgin land for farming in the
Pavlodar area, however, the line will become an important carrier of produce as
well as machinery, fuel, and other supplies for the agricultural enterprises.
The port at Pavlodar, which in the past was never one of the most important in
the area, must be improved, and other facilities in the area must be prepared
for the increase in importance which the expansion of agriculture will bring
them.(1)
Shipbuilding and Ship Repair Yards
The shipbuilding and ship repair enterprises of the USSR are striving to
cope with the task of maintaining the fleet in operation through the use of new
and better equipment and techniques.
In the Khlebnikovo Ship Repair Yard, for example, many new techniques have
been adopted which were developed by personnel of the yard. The productivity of
the gluing shop was increased 15 times by the mechanization of gluing plywood
used for inside partitions of ships. Other innovations throughout the yard made
possible a saving of 200,000 rubles as a result of lowering the cost of ship
repair.(32)
The workers of the Chardzho, Ship Repair Yard imeni 20 letiya TSSR have in-
creased the commodity output of the yard without the use of additional equipment
or production space.
Thanks to a new process developed there, a great many articles previously
forged from bronze and steel are now made from very hard cast iron. This method
has sharply reduced the amount of work involved in the production of these parts
and has resulted in considerable savings of bronze and expensive types of steel.
New techniques in the capital repair of steam boilers have also been developed;
welding has been introduced in place of riveting, and autogenous'cutting is replac-
ing machine cutting. These new methods were used in repairing the boilers of
the S/S Stakhanovets, S/? Shchors, and S/S Tadzhik, and in all these cases the
work was completed in half the normal time at below normal costs.
In the lathe and fitting shops at Chardzhou, machines are currently being
set up for the centrifugal grinding of babbitt bearings.(33)
The performance of the ship repair enterprises has been satisfactory in
many cases, and in some instances it has been outstanding.
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the ~illp xepair Yard has completed its ship repair plan with
completion of repairs on the M/V Molotov, M/V Lyapidevskiy, M/V Levanevskiy,
and S/S Sovetskaya Respublika ahead of schedule.(32)
The repair of vessels at the Petrozavodsk wharf is progressing according to
schedule with 21 ships of the 28 assigned already completed.(34)
The plan for the first four months of 1954 was completed ahead of
by the following enterprises of Gl.avmorrechprom schedule
(Main Administration of Maritime
and River Shipbuilding): Odessa Yard (zavod), Moscow Shipbuilding and Ship Re-
pair Yard (zavod), Kanonersk Ship Repair] Yard (zavod), Yard (zavod) imeni
Gadzhiyev, Yard (zavod) imeni Butyakov, Uglich Machine Building Plant, a radio
equipment plant, and the Moscow Shipbuilding Yard (verf').(1_1)
The Arakchino wintering cove (Kazan') has undertaken the repair of around
300 ships during the winter, all of which are to be ready for navigation in
April-05)
As new equipment is added to repair facilities, these ente
to embark. '?"
on new types of work as well as carry out general s rprises
are ores
efficiently.
of work more
type
When the Alekseyevskiye Ship Repair Shops were first organized they included
machine, forging, woodworking, and foundry shops, a power station, and a wood-
drying shed. At present a boiler-welding shop is being added and new living
quarters are going up.
The existing shops within the enterprise are currently receiving the follow-
ing new equipment which will broaden the shops' range of activities: drill
ical
presses, horizontal and vertical milling machines, pnuematic hammers, ical loading elevators for the cupola furnaces. Electric planers ane electric
drills are and mechan-
being used in certain operations.
The administration of the Lena Steamship Line has installed a battery charg-
ing and repair station at the Yakutsk Ship Repair Shops.(25)
The Neva Shipbuilding and Ship Repair Yard is undertaking the manufacture
of new and more complicated types of production. An experimental firebox has
been built with an automatic stoker, and a new coal loading and unloading machine
has been constructed which is cheaper than the cranes usually used in this work.
Coal loaders of this type will soon be sent to the ports at Kotlas and Pechora.
The yard has also produced a universal bending press (type LGS-2) which can
be used for all bending operations on sheet hull steel of from 4 to 10 milli-
meters in thickness. Use of this ms:hine will reduce the time required for bend-
ing from 1/3 to 2/3, depending on the thickness of the steel
the quality of the work. The yard will undertake the mass productionlofitheove
LGS-2 for plants of the Ministry of Maritime and River Fleet.
Living conditions for workers at the plant are also improving with the
addition of ten new residential buildings having an over-all area of 2,000
square meters.
In line with this general expansion of activities, the Kama Shipyard (one
of the newest enterprises of the Kama Steamship Line) now is building standard
design houses in addition to building and repairing vessels of the fleet.(l)
The ideal in ship repair work, of course, is to operate vessels in such a
way
by of . ddonethatthethecrewsy win vesselster repair
this work, or, in any case, to have such work
can be reduced to a considerable extent. way the load of the ship repair yards
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GONER AL
e
creasi
~1Cet of the Latvian SSR has been able to operate an in-
nLl Y great number of ships without the necessity of winter yard repairs.
In the winter of 1951-52, tPn ships of the Administration for the Transport
Utilization of Small Riverc(,inder the Council of Ministers
which me the winter of 1952 , Latvian SSR) re-
ant a saving
53 there were 21 such ships,
29 such ships. of 164,000 rubles; and this year the administration has
The passenger ship M/V Spars (Captain Berzin') has operated 4
yard repairs, and its engine has operated 8,823 hours without plant repairs,
although it was years without
Guaranteed by the manufacturer for only 2,500 hours.
repai0 other has such by the tug M/V Dzintars and dredge ZD-6
y the crews, and the craft are ready for serviderable
These facts mean that service.
considerable repair facilities of the republic were relieved of a
amount of work and were able to direct their efforts to vessels
requiring more extensive repair. The Riga Operational Section, the Riga Tech-
nical Section, and all the industrial enterprises of the republic were able to
serve a larger number of ships than ever before-06)
Administration and Personnel
The All-Union Meeting of Activist Workers of the Maritime and River Fleet,
held in Moscow from 1 to 6 March, was addressed by Z. A. Shashkov, the Minister
of the Maritime and River Fleet. The minister reported during talk that water transport in the USSR carried 1.5 times as
in 1940.(37) the course of his
much cargo in 1953 as
The first meeting of the Union of Workers of the Maritime and River Fleet
took place on 3 April at 1030 hours at the river station in Moscow's North Port
(Rhfmki Station). Registration of delegates arriving from all parts of the na-
tion was carried out at the Central Committee of the unio,_
and at the Khirrki River Station.(1)
(ulitsa ICirova, 13)
In the Sakhalin Steamship Company, the problem of maintaining a stable
labor force was apparent through most of 1953. The following exa;aples illustrate
the rapid turnover of crew members on vessels of that steamship months of 1953, the M/V Glinka had three chief matey four chief engineers, company: in 9
five third engineers, five fourth engineers, boatswains,
five chief radio operators and radio officers, and 24 other crew members. The
S/S Vantsetti had a turnover of more than 40 men, and the S/S Amde-^ma had a
turnover of 39 men.(25)
In Salekhard, the Lower Irtysh Steamship Line has announced that they have
both permanent and temporary openings at the Salekhard Wharf for stevedores
crane and steamship firemen, seamen, roasters, carpenters, cabinetmakers, plaster-
ers, crane operators, and general laborers.
Passage and travel expenses to the jo? are paid to workers in the Far North,
and equipment and clothing is provided with deferred payments. Families anteed living quarters, either individual or group. Those persons interested in
concluding a work contract are instructed to send a war are huar_
their home address included. All communications areytoegras to the wharf ns se
Oblast, city of Sg1ekhard, ulitsa Lenina No to be sent to:
(5) , 3, NIRPA wharf, Personnel D vision.
During the winter months there was a considerable movement of water trans-
port workers into rural areas where these men worked at kolkhozes sovkh
MTS during the off navigation season. More than 30 highly qualified workers (in-
cluding mechanics, ' ~Zes, and
lathe operators, blacksmiths, and welders) were sent from the
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Odessa yard of Clavmorrechprom to work in MTS. More than 40 workers have been
sent from the Cherepovets Shipbuilding and Ship Repair Yard.(25)
In the operational
administration of the river fleet, certain innovations
are being introduced which are intended to increase the efficiency of the fleet.
In the Moscow-Volga Canal Steamship Line, for example, results for the
1953 navigation season were
freight and passenger transport; refight workne ors, were
dustr for
duction. freight working in ports, and industrial al
pro-
The.plan for transport by the barge-pushing method was doubled, 6ro-
million rubles in profit above the plan were obtained, and the transport of
consumer goods and agricultural freight was 15 percent over the 1952 level.
Results could have been better, however, and profit higher if the line had not
allowed almost 4 million rubles in unproductive expenditures. Damage from
breakdowns and accidents alone cost 1. million rubles.
The cargo shipment plan for 1954 is 9 percent in tons and 7.9 percent in
ton-kilometers higher than the actual figures for 1953 with the greatest in-
crease in express cargo, 26 percent more than 1953. Half of this plan is already
assured by contracts which have been concluded (including contracts with kol-
khozes for the first time).
In the interests of fulfilling these 1954 increases and enlarging the
profit,
new system of tug fleet operation will be employed on a large scale for the
first time in the Moscow-Volga Canal, Dnepr, and Northwestern steamship lines,
This reorganization will assign tugs to independent industrial plants on short
and defined towing sectors (on the work principle used by the railroads). The
Moscow-Volga Canal Steamship Line plans to establish repair and operational
bases at the Khlebnikovo Yard, Shcherbakov Ship Repair Shops, Kalinin Ship Re-
pair Shops, and Ivan'kovo Ship Repair Shops, all of which will lie on established
towing sectors. The entire self-propelled transport fleet, which operates on the
towing sectors adjoining these bases, will be assigned to them. Each base is to
assume responsibility for all aspects of ship repair, crew replacement, creation
of suitable living conditions, and supply of fuel and navigational equipment to
the ships under its jurisdiction. The repair and operational base will be com-
pletely responsible for the continuous operation of each chip, for the fulfill-
ment of the ship's plan, and the installation of cost accounting on board. The
horsepower-days of useful work at!rlbuted to a base and its gross and commodity
production will serve as the basic indices for the production and financial plan
of that base, which in the course of its operations will work as an independent
cost accounting enterprise (1)
The Neman Steamship Line announced that contracts for water transport were
being negotiated as of early 1954 with a deadline date fir such contracts of
1 March. Interested parties were directed to write to Kaunas, tlitsa Tolstogo
5, Telephone 38-95; extension 51.(38)
[To indicate that the small boat owner had not been forgotten, the Naviga-
tion Inspection made the following announcement on 6 March 1951,,]
Attention motorboat owners'.
The Navigation Inspection of the Northwestern Basin announces that the qual-
ifying -ommission of the Navigation Inspection of the basin (ulitsa Gertsena 37,
Room 77) and of the Leningrad region (ulitsa Voinova 37/1) will begin issuing
certificates on 20 March to persons owning motorboats.
Persons appearing bifore the comuission should bring passport, certificate
of registration for the boat, and affadavit from a physician attesting to the
health recuirements for motorboat operation.
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An examination will be given on the applicant's knowledge of rules cf the
road for inland navigation.(39)
(The following administrative personnel of the Ministry of Maritime and
River Fleet have been identified by the press during the winter and spring 1953-
54:1
Shmonin -- chief of the River Transport Division, Glavnefteflot (Main Administra-
tion of the Petroleum Fleet).(5)
Grabezhov -- chief of the Political Division, Yenisey Steamship Line.(25)
Kudryavtsev -- chief of the Arkhangelsk Seaport.
Razuvayev -- chief of Onega Port.(5)
Krotenko -- chief of the Dnepr Basin Construction Administration.
Lazebnik -- chief engineer of the Dnepr Basin Construction Administration.(25)
Kruglenko -- chief of the port of Makhachkala.
Lugom -- chief of the Commercial Division of the port of Makhachkala.
Vinogradov -- deputy chief of the Main Administration of Material and Technical
Supply.
Kochnev -- chief of the Division of Ports and Commerce, Glavnefteflot.(20)
Yu. Orlov -- chief of tl'e Gor'kiy Regional Administration, Volga Freight Steam-
ship Line.(27)
Rykachev -- deputy chief of the Technical Administration, Minmorrechflot (Minis-
try of the Maritime and River Fleet).(25)
Biryukov -- director of the Ulan-Ode Ship Repair Yard (zavod).(11)
B. Radashevich -- (25)
epty chief of the Moscow Basin Construction Administration.
Shadskiy -- chief of the Political Division, Moscow-Volga Canal Steamship Line.
Zareyev -- deputy chief of the Moscow-Volga Canal Steamship Line.
Zharinov -- chief of the Division of Forts and Wharves, Moscow-Volga Canal
Steamship Line.(1)
Yesaulenko -- chief of the Politi^al Division, Amur Steamship Line.(40)
Nesterov -- deputy chief of Glavsevzapflot (Main Administration of the North-
western Fleet) (4i)
Sivtsov -- chief of the Riga Seaport.
Sorokin -- chief of the Political Division, Baltic Steamship Company.(6)
Moseychuk -- chief of the Political Division, Northwestern Steamship Line.
Kudryashov -- deputy chief for Komsomol work of the Political Division,
Northwestern Steamship Line.
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Sazhin and Zotov -- deputy chiefs, Northwest Steamship Line.
Bakayev -- deputy minister, Minmorrechflot.
Kharyukov, Levvant, Molev -- directors of the Dry Cargo Transport Division,
Glavtsentroflot (Main Administration of the
Central Basins Fleet and Ports).
Lozinskiy -- deputy chief of Glav-tsentroflot.
Sviridov -- deputy chief of the Transport Administration, minmorrechflot.(20)
The Fishing Fleet
The fishing harbors of Man;ali (at the mouth of the Daugava River) are used
by large numbers of fishing vessels including trawlers and motor boats from the
Riga and Lepaya bases of Gosmorlov (State Fishing Enterprises), ships of the
Riga motorized fishing station, and Estonian processing ships. The Estonian
ships are based in Riga temporarily since Pyarnuskiy Zaliv (Gulf of Pyarnu) is
frozen.
In spite of heavy seas and fog, the ships are doing quite well in their
January plans. At the Riga base, for exarple, the SM13-20-25 (Capt Tyshkirs)
completed 70 percent of the monthly plan by 12 January. By the same date, the
!'D T-108 (Capt Rozitis) had completed 53 percent of the plan, and the MRT-109
(Capt Silgeylis) 53 percent, in spite of repetitive repairs.
The entire fishing fleet was not able to leave wit, however, after the
sighting of fish because of needed repairs. Of the 19 ships operating with the
Riga base of Gosmorlov, eight are undergoing repairs. The MRT-109 of this base
had her trawl winch repaired on 12 December and put to sea, but on 17 December
she returned to port for rerairs to the same winch. Repairs took 5 days, after
which the ship again put to sea. On 12 January, ho:,ever, the same winch broke
down once more. The MR'i-99 has been undergoing repairs for over 2 months, and
motorboat No 17 has been launched but after only superficial repairs. This +ype
of work is typical of the Mangili Shipyard (Director Lebedev, Chief Engineer
Apter).(J 2)
In the Barents Sea, the trawlers of the Northern Fishing Trust are operating
with considerable success. Twelve of the Chips operating there completed the
quarterly plan by March, including the Del'fin, Pechora, Pechorets, and Baku.
(43,44) The trawlers Belomor, Pelikan, and Vorkuta are also operating with the
group-05)
The herring fishing season is in full swing on the Caspian Sea where almost
the entire fishing fleet of the kolkhoz fishermen's union and the Turk_ Fishing
Trust have been sent to the southwestern shore to take part in the catch.
Ships loaded with herring moor daily at the Krasnovodsk Fish Combine and
Ogurchinskiy Island fish processing plant.(46)
The severe winter in the Caspian Sea this year has hampered operations to
some extent. On It March, six fishing launches were caught in heavy ice while
attempting to enter the port of Makhachkala. The icebreaker Sergo Ordzhonikidze
under the command of Captain Lesnykh and the seiner Pushkin were sent to the aid
of the launches, and a channel was cut for them through the two-meter thick ice.
(12)
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vessels from several sources. 1T
r increas in size by the on of
heefishing and transport fleets ofdPrimor ye,
Sakhalin, and Kamchatka have been enlarged by vessels sent from the Baltic
Sea. The group includes many floating freezer-refrigerators, several hunter
schooners, and transport ships for carrying whale oil and fuel.(47)
The Astrakhan' Shipyard imeni S. M. Kirova is series-producing sail fishing
vessels which are equipped with 20-horsepower auxiliary engines and
for light. The first ships produced are being sent to Aral'sk
and Ka ryshin.(48) generators
Ural sk, Baku,
The Tallin Shipyard of Glavrybprom (Main Administration of the Fishing
Industry), Estonian SSR, is delivering the first motor fishing boats
in 1954 to motorized fishing stations. An additional 70 of these boats are to
be delivered during the spring. produced
This shipyard does not produce exclusively for the Estonian SSR, however.
Five of these motor boats were sent to the Belorussian SSR for use in inland
water fishing there.
In addition, engineers from the Tallin Shipyard were sent to the Far East
recently to the offices of Glavsakhalinrybprom (Main Administration of the
Sakhalin Fishing Industry) where they studied local conditions and needs. As
a result of these studies they developed plans for two types of motorboats.
the Tallin and the Pyarnu. In March, the first of these ships was produced at
the Krasnogorsk Shipyard (Southern Sakhalin).(49)
The Soviet whaling flotilla Slava, under the command of Captain A. Solyanik,
has left the Antarctic and is sailing northward for the Black Sea. It is custom-
ary for the Slava to stop at the South African port of Capetown before proceeding
on the trip home. the flot 2 of 3, 9e persos elroftthen aatilllla a filled their plan for the trip. A total
processing of whale oil. This was far above thetotal irecorded tforaanpr of 28 r
(11) ray ty previous t tri
p.
In the Far East, the whaling flotilla Aleut has put to sea and has arrived
at the whaling grounds after 4 days' sailing. ships whali g1eship Avangardois stillaunder way have
to begun oin the
the hunt
s' while the
flotilla.(50)
The Artie
The S/S Msta has sailed from Murmansk for Spitsbergen on its third trip
there of 1954, an unusually large number of voyages completed so early in the
year. The crew of the Msta opened the season on the regular cargo run from
Murmansk to Spitsbergen a month earlier than usual.
On its last trip the ship was caught in a force 9 [Beaufort] storm, but
was able to sail safely into Ice F,jord.(51)
The S/S Askol'd, rider the command of Captain A. Oganov, is presently to ^ti
cated in the Greenland Sea at 78 degrees north latitude. ( 11 )
In conjunction with the increase in vessel activity on the Yenisey River,
a new passenger landing stage was built at Dudinka in the fall of 1953?(51)
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Norilsk, the city served by the port of Dudinka, is growing and improving
also. During the last year a considerable amount of housing has been built
there in addition to theaters, schools, stores, anti clinics. Sevastopol'skaya
Ulitsa, Oktyabr'skaya Ulitsa, Gvardeyskaya Ploshchad', and Teatral'naya Ploshchad'
have been paved with asphalt, and bus service has been opened in the city.(52)
At the mouth of the Yenisey River, the inhabitants of Ostrov Dikson
(Dikson Island) have organized a well-run settlement. There are two clubs in
the village, four libraries, and several motion pictlu theaters. The worker's
club in, the maritime port will be rebuilt and expanded this year.(53)
Soviet Vessels in Forei Vo a es
Under the command of Captain M. Fomin, the new tanker Leningrad made its
maiden voyage at the end of January to the Chinese People's Republic and returned
to Odessa on the eve of the first of May. The ship was delivered to the Black
Sea Steamship Company early in 1951; by Soviet shipbuilders.
The Black Sea Steamship Company's ship M/V Krasnodar is under way for the
Black Sea after completing a trip to the Indian port of Madras. En route to
Madras, the Krasnodar encountered the schooner Adam Gamid which had been disabled
by a severe storm, and the Soviet ship rendered aid to the disabled craft in the
form of food, water, and a compass. This aid was widely reported in the Indian
press.(11)
The M/V Nogin sailed in the spring from Odessa for the Albanian port of
Durres with food and medical supplies from the Soviet Red Cross and Red Crescent
societies.(5)
The S/S Apsheron has arrived in Buenos Aires after stopping in Rosario for
freight. As in Rosario, visitors from commercial establishments and organiza
tions are boarding the ship. About 8,000 people have visited the ship to date.
(54)
The new passenger ship S/S Aleksandr Mozhaysl?.iy reached Vladivostok on
19 May where it will be put into service between Vladivostok and ports to the
north. The ship is painted a brilliant white and boasts comfortable cabins,
three dining rooms, music and cultural salons, a motion picture theater, and
children's room.(55) M milesTin I/7monthsSergo
which ttime eitaviafter sited smany maritime a distance of 43,000
in the eastern hemisphere including the Chinese cities of Tsingtao, Shanghai,
Dairen, and others.(3)
The M/V Marshal Govorov is under way in the Red Sea on her way from the
Chinese port of thefoo [Yen-t'ail to Odessa.(6)
The S/S Sevzaples recently returned to Vladivostok from a voyage to China.
In Canton the crew of the ship was entertained at the seaman's club by Chinese
sailors.(53)
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1. MosrMw, VMAn.v Trnnsnnrt, 1 Apr 54
2. Moscow, Gudok, 11 Apr 54
3. Moscow, Pravda, 26 Apr 54
4. Gudok, 18 Apr 54
5. Vodnyy Transport, 3 Apr 54
6. Riga, Sovetskaya Latviya, 25 Mar 54
7. Pravda, 6 May 54
8. Moscow, Moskovskaya Pravda, 19 Mar 54
9. Gudok, 9 Apr 54
10. Moscow, Vechernyaya Moscow, 30 Mar 54
11. Vodnyy Transport, 1 May 54
12. Leningrad, Leninaradskaya Pravda, 30 Mar 54
13. Sovetskaya Latviya, 10 Mar 54
14. Moscow, Izvestiya, 18 Apr 54
15. Kishinev, Sovetskaya Moldaviya, 26 Mar 54
16. Vi1'nyus, Sovetskaya Litva, 30 Mar 54
17. Gudok, 10 Apr 54
18. Ibid., 24 Mar 54
19. Moscow, Trud, 24 Mar 54
20. Vodnyy Transport, 28 Nov 53
21. Pravda, 22 Apr 54
22. Ibid., 4 May 54
23. Gudok, 2 Mar 54
24. Izvestiya, 17 Apr 54
25. Vodnyy Transport, 17 Nov 53
26. Sovetskaya Latviya, 24 Jan 54
27. Vodnyy Transport, 24 Oct 53
28. Sovetskaya Latviya, 19 Mar 54
29. Proveltirovani e Progression kh Norm na Progruzochno-
Razgruzochnyye Raboty v hlor~kikh Portakh Planning
Progressive Norms Yor Loading-Unloading Work in Sea-
ports). L. D. Vtrenko, Moscow, 1952
30. Pravda, 31 Mar 54
31. Gudok, 7 Apr 54
32. Moskovskaya Pravda, 14 Mar 54
33. Ashkhabad, Turkmenskaya Iskra, 17 Mar 54
34. Petrozavodsk, Leninskoye Znas'a 31 Jan 54
35. Moscow, Kolsomol'skaya Pravda, 12 Mar 54
36. Sovetskaya Latviya, 28 Jan 54
37. Moscow, Krasnaya Zvezda, 7 Mar 54
38. Sovetskaya Litva, 27 Jan 54
39. Leningradskaya Pravda, 6 Mar 54
4c. Pravda, 26 Mar 54
41. Vodnyy Transport, 7 Jan 54
42. Ibid., 15 Jan 54
43? Pravda, 26 Feb 54
44. Moskovskaya Pravda, 23 Mar 54
45. Trud, 24 Feb 54
46. Turkmenskaya Iskra, 14 Feb 54
47. Sovetskaya Latviya, 25 Feb 54
48. Ibid., 2 Mar 54
49. Tallin, Sovetskaya Estbniya, 23 Mar 54
50. Pravda, 13 Apr 54
51. Sovetskaya Litva, 12 Nov 53
52. Pravda, 22 Nov 53
53. Ibid., 9 Apr 54
54. Ibid., 4 Feb 54
55? Izvestiya, 19 May 54
56. Pravda, 15 Mar 54
- 15 -
CONFIDENTIAL
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