PORT SECURITY/ECONOMIC CONDITIONS

• Document Type: CREST
• Collection: General CIA Records
• Document Number (FOIA) /ESDN (CREST): CIA-RDP80-00809A000500530085-7
• Release Decision: RIPPUB
• Original Classification: C
• Document Page Count: 2
• Document Creation Date: December 15, 2016
• Document Release Date: June 22, 2001
• Sequence Number: 85
• Publication Date: June 14, 1954
• Content Type: REPORT

Approved For Release 2003/10/01 : CIA-RDP80-00809A000500530085-7
U.S. Orficials Only
CONFIDENTIAL
CENTRAL INTELLIGENCE AGENCY
INFORMATION REPORT
SUBJECT Port Security/'Economic Conditions
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I[CTINt TNI NATIONAL DlllNtIN
OF THE UNITED STATES. NITMIM TMENEANIHO OF TITLE 10. SECTIONS TS]
AND )ti. OF TMt U. a. CODE. AS AMENDED. ITS TNANINISSION ON NEVt.
LATIOM )I ITS CONTENTS TO ON ICCIIl1 NY AN UMAUTHONII[D !["NON It
25X1A
DATE DISTR. iq Jun 1954
NO. OF PAGES 2
NO. OF ENCLS.
SUPP. TO
REPORT NO.
SOURCE Officer of an Egyptian: merchant ship.
Source's ship arr. i ,red at Constants, 28 Oct 5.3 with a load of iron ore from
Calcutta, India. :C" discharged its cargo and left Constants. " Nov 53.
,~'Fhe office o? NavaL Intelligence, 6ND, in Report No. 70-51i., fu..,niehed the
followin;; infor::lat,lon to CIA for 1AC di!3semtriation in accordant: with para-
graph ?? 143CIi) 7,7
1, My ship left Calcutta. India 3 Ser. 53 carrying a cargo of iron ore for the
pcrt of Constant a Rumania. Upon entering he Black Sea I saw a few fishing
vessels but nc naval. craft until we atrived tiff Constants In 28 Cct 53. Out-
side the harbor, t, pilot and two "policemen" boarded the vessel accompanied
by a doctor and ai:. ar.M.:ed nnusrft. My ship was anchored outside the harbor area
where eight or 10 Tien conducted a three-hour search, during which 1;.1e usual
items were sealed. A small qi an.tiry cf tea and sugar belonging to crew mem-
bers was confiscated. The see,rcY ing party ni mbers were unarmed Rumanians,
and only the officials an charge c:arr'.ett pistols. After the search as com-
ple';.ed my ship Wa,13 moved to a wharf where the iron ore was discharget,. Shore
leave was grant:ec. to the members of the crew between 1700 and 2200 local time,
but never more than one .-third :,f the crew was. given passes at one tiine, and
each man was thoroughly searrhe:d before going ashore. Everyone boarding my
Ship including the ship's agent, was e.ccompani.ed by an armed guard. There
were four old "r'i.ilroai cranes, of five-ton capacity at the wharf where my
snip was berthed.
2. While in the harbor I saw a sailing vessel which appeared to be a trainicg
r--hip, a dredge approximately 20?') feet long, an,-'. two tankers which I could not
identify. I s:::,; several Soviet and Rumanian naval vessels but I do not Ice call
ELny details of these ships. I did observe two large and one small. RumanLai
merchant vesse:.s discharging timber and an unknoxan cargo in bags, several.
50-foot harbor tugs, but no salvage tugs. The customs officials in Constant.%
wore grey uniforms while the port authorities' uniforms were blue, and the
Rumanian naval personnel wore a blue uniform l:.gg.hter in color than the port
authorities-dress. I also notes a number of 12-:,ear old children wearing grey
uniforms in the city o" Constanba but I saw no large number of military per-
sonnel.
U.:.. Officials Only
CO.NFJDENTIAT COCZ7S
L TRIDUTION 51 TATE ARMY NAYT I FAIR F01
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3. The general economic conditions were miserable and the only prosperous
people appeared to be military personnel. A drink of " not good" vodka
cost the equivalent of 650 in US money, but the shtpls personnel were
only permitted to spend local currency provided by the ship's agent.
The civilians were shabbily dressed, and a number of the Rumanian long-
shoremen attempted to buy clothes from members of the crew, Some were
successful and wore the newly purchased clothes u,}depeath their own in
order to avoid detection when leaving the vessel. An one trip ashore I
attended a Rumanian motion picture theatre and although I could not under-
stand the dialogue, the sound appeared good while the photography was not
good. It was obvious that Communist propaganda was interwoven in the story,
but I could not tell whether the film was produced in the USA or Rumania.
4. The Rumanian civilians showed a tenseness toward the crew of my ship, and
obviously shied away from any unnecessary contact. When we arrived iS
Constant & ?oma pf the crew shouted and whistled at girls gn the wharf,
and the girls appeared to be concerned and frtgt}tened that they would be
seen. I visited a restaurant where the waiters were reluctant to serve
me, and veemed afraid to be seen talking to a foreigner. After asking to
be nerved, the s4aiter bap ght the food and did not ret wn until I had
finished. I would characterize all the Rumanians as being "afraid".
-end-
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756.543 6oM
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Approved For Release 2003/10/01 : CIA-RDP80-00809A000500530085-7