EMPLOYMENT OF SOVIET BLOC SHIPS IN COMMUNIST CHINA TRADE

• Document Type: CREST
• Collection: General CIA Records
• Document Number (FOIA) /ESDN (CREST): CIA-RDP79-01203A000200020002-0
• Release Decision: RIFPUB
• Original Classification: S
• Document Page Count: 1
• Document Creation Date: November 16, 2016
• Document Release Date: March 8, 2000
• Sequence Number: 2
• Content Type: REPORT

Approved For Re a 2000/05/30 : CIA-RDP79-01 Z .A000200020002-0
S E-C-R E-T
EMPLOYMENT OF SOVIET BB SHIPS IN CMMIST CHINA TRADE
1. Since the beginning of the Korean War in June 1950, Poland
and Czechoslovakia have acquired 17 ocean-going merchant vessels from
Western sources totalling 104 thousand gross register tons. Twelve
of these vessels (70%), totalling 78 thousand gross register tons
were placed IMMEDIATELY in the trade with Communist China (See Tables
I and II). The remaining five ships totalling 26 thousand gross
register tons, while not being placed in the China trade immediately,
eventually were so employed, usually within one year of acquisition
by the Bloc (See Tables III and IV)0 , Three of these five vessels
totalling 13,4 thousand gross register tons were first assigned to
the South America run, releasing a larger ship for the China trade,
before being transferred to the Far East route (See Table III),,
'2. Moreover, the Polish Ocean Lines publishes a monthly schedule
of its voyages from Gdynia/Gdansk to the United Kingdom, Western
Europe, South America, India., Pakistan, Finland, the Near East, and
the Black Sea; and from Stettin to the United Kingdom, Scandinavia,
Western Europe, East Germany, and Finland.
3. Conversely, no public announcement is made of scheduled voy-
ages to Communist China.
4. This fact is considered to be additional evidence that the
administrative, financial, as well as operational control of the
Chinese-Polish Ship Brokers Corporation are in the hands of the Chinese
Communists, and that the use of the Polish flag on at least one-half
of the vessels in the China trade is merely for disguising the true
ownership status of these vessels.
ENCLOSURE (1)
NAVY DECLASSIFICATION/RELEASE INSTRUCTIONS ON FILE
S E-C-R E T
Approved For Release 2000/05/30 : CIA-RDP79-01203A000200020002-0