FOREIGN SHIPPING TO NORTH VIETNAM IN OCTOBER 1966

• Document Type: CREST
• Collection: General CIA Records
• Document Number (FOIA) /ESDN (CREST): CIA-RDP78T02095R000800070061-8
• Release Decision: RIPPUB
• Original Classification: S
• Document Page Count: 19
• Document Creation Date: December 20, 2016
• Document Release Date: April 1, 2008
• Sequence Number: 61
• Publication Date: November 1, 1966
• Content Type: IM

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CIA/RR EM 66-56
November 1966
INTELLIGENCE MEMORANDUM
FOREIGN SHIPPING TO NORTH VIETNAM IN OCTOBER 1966
MORI
DIRECTORATE OF INTELLIGENCE
SECRET
GROUP 1
Excluded from automatic
downgrading and
declassification
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OLiIs r l
FOREWORD
The data in this memorandum are preliminary and subject to
modification as additional information becomes available. Significant
changes may occur in data on ship arrivals and cargoes from Communist
China and, to a lesser extent, in data on cargoes carried by ships of the
Free World. All data on cargoes carried are expressed in metric tons.
Data on Soviet and Eastern European ship;arrivals and cargoes and on
Free World ship arrivals are not likely to be changed significantly. As
required, changes will be reported in subsequent memoranda.
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Summary . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
North Vietnam: Foreign Ship Arrivals,
Monthly Average 1965 and January-
October 1966 (chart) following page
I. Communist Shipping . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3
II. Free World Shipping . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5
III. Cargoes . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
7
1. North Vietnam: Foreign-Fla.g Ship Arrivals,
October and January-October 1966 . . . . . . . . . 11
2. North Vietnam: Tonnage of Foreign-Flag Ship
Arrivals, October and January-October 1966 . . . . 12
3. North Vietnam: Identified Imports Carried
by Foreign-Flag Ships, October 1966 . . . . . . . . 13
4. North Vietnam: Identified Exports Carried
by Foreign-Flag Ships, October 1966 . . . . . . . . 14
Illustrations
North Vietnam: Principal Maritime Ports,
Anchorages, and Shipping Channels (map)
following page . . . . . . . . . . .
Page
The Soviet Tankers Am ursk and
Alekseyevsk (photographs) . . . . . . . 9
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FOREIGN SHIPPING TO NORTH VIETNAM IN OCTOBER 1966*
Summary
A new procedure for Soviet petroleum shipments, a significant re-
coveryof exports of coal and pig iron, and an increase in Chinese Com-
munist and Eastern European shipping highlighted foreign shipping to
North Vietnam in October. Calls by Soviet and Free World ships re-
mained below the monthly average for the earlier months of this year, as
shown in the following tabulation:
1965
Total 44-
Communist 23
USSR
7
Eastern Europe
Communist China
12
United. Kingdom
11
Other
10
Januar -September
September
October
31
26
30
24
22
28
10
7
8
3
5
7
11
10
13
5
2
0
2
2
2
This memorandurnwas produced by CIA. It was prepared by the Office
of Research and Reports, and information on ship arrivals was coordi-
nated. with the Office of Naval Intelligence; the estimates and conclu-
sions represent the best judgment of the Directorate of Intelligence as
of 18 November 1966.
For details on ship arrivals and the type and distribution of cargo, see
Figure 1 and Tables 1, 2, 3, and 4.
1266
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Soviet ships carried about 45 percent of identified seaborne import car-
goes. The volume of identified seaborne imports was the lowest since
September 1965 because of unusually small shipments of miscellaneous
and general cargoes and of petroleum, as shown in the following tabula-
tion:
Monthly Averages
(Thousand Metric Tons
Seaborne Imports
'Dotal
POL
Miscellaneous and.
general cargoes
Other
1966
October
January Sept ember
56.8
78=2
5.1
17.7
25.7
35?6
26.0
24.8
No shipments of miscellaneous and general cargoes from Chinese ports
were observed, but the volume of these shipments from the USSR and
Eastern Europe was nearly up to the average monthly level of the first
three quarters of this year.
Free World ships carried 44 percent of identified export cargoes.
Seaborne coal exports reached 75, 100 tons, the highest monthly volume
since shipments of processed coal were reduced by airstrikes last April
but 52, 000 tons short of the average volume of these shipments in the
first three months of this year. Exports of pig iron in both September
and October (7, 000 and 8, 300 tons, respectively) were the largest for
any month since March 1965.
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Free World
Communist
China
USSR
Eastern European
Communist Countries
44
25
.J*
North Vietnam: Foreign Ship Arrivals
Monthly Average 1965 and January - October 1966
A M
1966
J J
Month
1965
MONTHLY AVERAGE
*zxcluding one Cuban ship
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SLUKV I
I. Communist Shipping
Twenty-eight Communist ships called at North Vietnam in October,
compared with a monthly average of 24 during the period January-
September. The arrival of the largest number of Chinese Communist
ships (13) since March 1966, as well as three Bulgarian ships (-normally
infrequent visitors to North Vietnamese ports) and four Polish-flag ships,
offset a moderately low number of calls by Soviet ships.
The increase in Chinese Communist shipping was accounted for
primarily by the increased availability of coal at Cam Pha, as a result
of partial recovery from the strikes against its coal-processing facil-
ities last April. Eight Chinese ships sailed directly_tothe coal ports,
and two of the five that called at Haiphong, presumably to discharge
cargoes, later went on to coal ports to load anthrarcite for.-China.
Eight Soviet ships arrived at North Vietnam in.October, compared
with seven in September and an average of 12 per month in the period
June-August 1966. The decline in September and October may represent
a Soviet reaction to the delays encountered by Soviet ships during the
summer months as a result of congestion at Haiphong. Only two Soviet
dry cargo ships arrived with goods from Soviet ports. Three Soviet dry
cargo ships were time chartered to Vietfracht. One of these delivered
fertilizer from North Korea and two arrived empty to load coal for
Haiphong and Malaysia.
Three Bulgarian ships and four Polish-flag ships accounted for all
calls at North Vietnam by Eastern European-flag Ships in October. The
Bulgarian ships, one of which was a bulk cargo carrier, were making
their first calls at North Vietnam since they were time chartered by
Vietfracht in August and September. Two delivered fertilizer from North
Korea and one arrived in ballast to pick up coal for Japan. Two of the
Polish-flag ships were in liner service for the Polish Ocean Lines and
two were Chip olbrok-" " ships with general cargo from Gdynia and
Antwerp.
For a map showing principal maritime ports, anchorages, and
shipping channels, see Figure 2.
North Vietnam's ship--chartering organization.
I The Chinese-Polish Shipping Company.
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NORTH VIETNAM: Maritime Ports, Anchorages, and Shipping Channels
? Maritime Port Maritime Anchorage
? Other Port Shipping Channel
Principal Waterways
A SONG THAI BINH
B CANAL DES BAMBOUS-
LA CH TRAY
At Haiphong: 1 - POL Pier
2-Maritime Wharfs
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II. Free World Shipping
A Maltese-flag ship carrying grain and timber from Cambodia, and
a Cypriot-flag ship arriving in ballast, were the only Free World ships
to call at North.Vietnam in October. This compares with a monthly
average of nearly seven from January through September. Both ships
were time chartered to Vietfracht. Five heavily laden Free World ships
departed North Vietnam, however, carrying nearly 44 percent of the ex-
port cargoes identified aboard foreign ships in October. Two carried
coal to Communist China and three sailed to Japan, one carrying pig iron
and the others coal.
If the significant increase in coal shipments from Cam Pha in October
is repeated in November, there may be a larger number of calls by Free
World coal carriers. Free World ships normally carry the major share of
North Vietnam's coal exports but have averaged fewer than four calls a
month at North Vietnam since seaborne coal shipments were crippled by
airstrikes against the port of Cam Pha in April.
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III. Cargoes
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Seaborne imports identified aboard foreign ships calling at North
Vietnam in October totaled 56, 800 tons, the lowest monthly total since
September 1965 and 27 percent below the average for the first three
quarters of 1966. Unusually small tonnages of miscellaneous and
general cargoes, as well as petroleum, were the principal reasons
for this decline as shown in the following tabulation:
Seaborne Imports
Total
Fertilizer
Bulk foodstuffs
Timber
POL
Miscellaneous
1966 Monthly Averages
October
January-
September
Column 1
Less
Column 2
56.8
78.2
-21.4
18.7
19.1
-0.4
6.9
4.4
+2.5
o.4
1.4
-1.0
5.1
17.7
-12.6
25.7
35.6
-9.9
No shipments of arms or munitions were detected.
The Soviet ship Amursk was the only tanker to deliver petroleum
in bulk to North Vietnam in October. It arrived on 23 October and
discharged 4, 000 tons in four days. An additional 1, 100 tons of POL
in containers were delivered by Soviet dry cargo ships. The reason
for the low volume of petroleum deliveries in October is not clear.
It may reflect adequate North Vietnamese inventories of petroleum,
delays associated with the initiation of the new shipping procedure,
fluctuations in scheduling, ** or a combination of these factors.
The Soviet tanker Moskovskiy Festival, which departed North
Vietnam on 7 October after discharging 11, 000 tons of gasoline and
diesel oil, had arrived at North Vietnam in September.
Over the past two years, as many as three Soviet tankers have
called at North Vietnam in a given. month, but none called in Feb-
ruary, July, or August 1965.
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The Amursk inaugurated a series of 4, 000 -ton shipments from
Vladivostok aboard tankers of the Drogobych class` (see Figure 3).
These shipments are now arriving at about weekly intervals. The
reason for the substitution of these smaller tankers operating from
Vladivostok for Kazbek-class tankers (8, 230 GRT) sailing from the
Black Sea is not clear. That this may be only a temporary or sup-
plementary procedure is indicated by the passage through the Bosporus
of the Soviet tanker Rovno on 14 November with 10, 900 tons of petro--
l.eum destined for North Vietnam.
There were no identified imports of miscellaneous and general
cargoes from Communist China in October. The lack. of such imports,
which during the first three quarters of this year averaged nearly
10, 000 tons per month, constituted the major reason for the sharp
drop in this category of shipments in October. Shipments of rn__scel-
laneous and general cargoes from the USSR and Eastern European
countries were slightly below average. Soviet deliveries of miscel-
htneous and general cargoes totaled 13, 100 tons, including 4, 600 tons
of pyrites; 1, 000 tons of paper; and large quantities of rolled steel
products, tank trucks, and construction equipment. Shipments from
Eastern European countries consisted largely of trucks and metal
products.
Haiphong remained congested with cargo, despite the low volume
of dry cargoes delivered there in September and October and the fact
that through traffic on the rail. line from Haiphong to Hanoi apparently
has been unimpeded since June. Soviet ships departing North Vietnam
in October had been in port an average of three weeks (some for as
long as five weeks), compared with a normal time. of about 10 days.
A significant recovery of coal shipments and an unusually high
volume of pig iron shipments raised North Vietnam's seaborne ex-
ports in October to 89, 300 tons, the largest mcnthly volume since
April. 1966. Seaborne exports of coal amounted to 75, 100 tons, the
The first tanker of this class, the Drogobych, has been sold to
another country. Because of modifications of visible features such
as the, location of masts, some newer units of this series are also
referred to as Pevek and Alagir-class vessels. All are ships of
approximately 3, 300 GRT ( gross register tons).
Drogobych-class tankers arrived at North Vietnam on 7 and
14 Novemberr and a third, now en route, should arrive on or about
21 November.
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6 NOVEMBER 1966 WITH 3 , 700 TONS OF PETROLEUM FROM VLADIVOSTOK
- 9 -
CONFIDENTIAL
GROUP
[EXCLUDED FROM AUlOMA71C
DOWNGRADING
ANO OECLASSIfICAT10N
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most since US airstrikes crippled coal-processing facilities at Cam
Pha last April but still 52, 000 tons less than the monthly average in
the first quarter of the year, Shipments to Japan were the largest
since June 1965, totaling 44, 800 tons. Communist China received
25, 600 tons.
Repeating an operation observed for the first time last month, a
chartered Soviet ship transported 4, 000 tons of coal from Hon Gay to
Haiphong. The most probable reasons for this unusual procedure
are: (1) barges normally engaged in this cabotage movement were in
relatively short supply (because of attrition resulting from airstrikes,
or their assignment to the transport of higher priority cargoes over
inland waterways); (2) foreign ships were used in order to reduce the
exposure of North Vietnamese shipping to air attack in coastal waters.
Photography of 6 September revealed that reserve stocks at Haiphong's
coal pier were depleted.
As a result of an improved market, 15, 300 tons of pig iron were
shipped from North Vietnam in September and October, compared
with a total of only 2, 800 tons in the earlier months of thser.~ ;::Japan
took 8, 100 tons in October, and a small amount went to Singapore.
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North Vietnam: Foreign-Flag Ship Arrivals a/
October and January-October 1966
October
January-October
Flag Number
Percent
Number
Percent
Total 20
100.0
10
100..0
Communist countries
28
93.3
246
79.4
USSR
8
26.7
102
32.9
Eastern Europe
7
23.3
35
11.3
Albania
2
0.6
Bulgaria
3
10.0
7
2.3
Poland,
4
13.3
26
8.4
Communist China
13
43.3
108
34.8
Cuba
1
0.3
2
6.7
64
20.6
Cyprus
1
3.3
10
3.2
Greece
7
2.3
Italy
1
0.3
Malta
1
3.3
4
1.3
United. Kingdom
42
13.5
a. Because of rounding, components may not add, to the totals shown.
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North Vietnam: Tonnage of Foreign-Flag Ship Arrivals a
October and January-October 1966
October January-October
Thousand Thousand
Gross Gross
Register Register
Flag Number Tons Number Tons
Total 145.9
Communist countries 28 131.4 246 1,420
USSR 8 50.0 102 742.6
Eastern Europe 7 51.3 35 262.0
Communist China 13 30.1 108 4(6.6
Cuba 1 9.7
Free World 2 1 4.5 166.6
a. The aggregate tonnage of ships calling is not necessarily cor-
relative to the actual volume of cargoes moving into and out of North
Vietnam, but these data are of value as indications of relative
changes in the volume of shipping.
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North Vietnam: Identified Imports
Carried by Fore;_gn-Flag Ships: a%
October 1966
Ammonium
Sulfate
and Other Bulk Miscel-
Flag Fertilizers Petroleum Foodstuffs Timber laneous Total
Total 18.7 ~ L. 2 0=4 -?_5.7 .88
Communist countries 18.7 5.1 0 0 25.7 49.5
USSR 6.6 5.1 13.1 J 24.8
Eastern Europe 12.1 12.6 24.7
Communist China CI
I ree Wcrld 0 0 O_4 0
a. Identified imports include some estimates of bulk cargoes, using methods which
have proved to be highly reliable.
b. Including 4,600 tons of pyrites and 1,000 tons of paper.
c. An additional unknown quantity of imports may have been carried by Chinese
Communist ships.
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Table 4
North Vietnam: Identified Exports
Carried by Foreign-Flag Ships J
October 1966
Commodity
4iseel-
-~_ F1 a
Coal
Cement Pig Iron
laneous
Total
Total
75.1
1.2 8.3
4.7
89.3
Communist countries
44.2
1.2 0.2
4.7
50.3
USSR
19.0
2.7
2--.7
Eastern Europe
9.0
0.2
0.6
c9.8
Communist China J
16.2
1.2
1.4
18.8
Free World 30.9 0 8.1 0 39.0
a. Identified exports include some estimates of bulk' cargoes,
using methods which have proved to be highly reliable.
b. An additional unknown quantity of exports may have been carried
by Chinese Communist ships.
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