THE LETTER TO THE HONORABLE DEAN RUSK FROM JOHN A. MCCONE

• Document Type: CREST
• Collection: General CIA Records
• Document Number (FOIA) /ESDN (CREST): CIA-RDP80B01676R000400080017-4
• Release Decision: RIPPUB
• Original Classification: S
• Document Page Count: 9
• Document Creation Date: December 20, 2016
• Document Release Date: August 21, 2006
• Sequence Number: 17
• Publication Date: May 13, 1964
• Content Type: LETTER

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13 1r ay 1464
ched report on krte world ,ship;
5 is receiving nor l dtstribuUon. I wish to
xt.
t oarticular interest and concern is the rise
Beek controlled shipping which in the first quarter
steed to 97. e$ s in March to 94. , of the Freee
W rlei voyages. These astoundingly high percentages rosu t
from a dsterzrination that virtually all the .ebanes? fig
vessels in the Cuban trade during the first quarter, which
accounted for one-third of the tmtal voyages, were either British
or Greek controlled. Apparently there are so vie advantages to
register ships wider the Lebanese flag.
t at copy of this report to NtcOeorge Bundy
suggesting that he bring it to the 'resident's personal attention.
Sinn GreeAy f
/a/ John
4hn A. -MkcOune
.-ireata~ar
The Honorable Dean us .~'-
he Secretary of State
Department t "If State
4y alder; M.MW (13May64)
trig w/a by hand to addressee
cc - D I chrono wo/a3 r_ E .tt
~5 ~ tin ,1_ kYffP!M, a..a P ,w;w ?:
(Attachment: Current Support Brief - British & Greek Firms
Continue to Dominate Free World Shipping in the
Cuban Trade dated May 64
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SECRET
NO FOREIGN DISSEM
0
Current Support Brief
BRITISH AND GREEK FIRMS
CONTINUE TO DOMINATE FREE WORLD SHIPPING
IN THE CUBAN TRADE
CIA/RR CB 64-30
May 1964
CENTRAL INTELLIGENCE AGENCY
Office of Research and Reports
NO FOREIGN DISSEM
SECRET
GROUP 1
Excluded from automatic
downgrading and
declassification
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This material contains information a.: cutlg
the National Defense of the United States
within the meaning of the espionage iaws,
Title 18, USC, Secs. 193 and 794, the rans-
mission or revelation of which in any i tanner
to an unauthorized person is prohib,,ted law.
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BRITISH AND GREEK FIRMS
CONTINUE TO DOMINATE FREE WORLD SHIPPING
IN THE CUBAN_ TRADE _
The dominance in the Cuban trade of ships controlled by British
and Greek firms and registered under the British and Lebanese flags
increased in the first quarter of 1964 and reached its highest point in
March (see Table 1). About 95 percent of Free World ships arriving in
Cuba in March were controlled by either British or Greek firms, and
about 87 percent were of British or Lebanese registry.
The difficulty in further reducing Free World shipping to Cuba lies
in the organization of the shipping industry and the attitudes of the British
and Greek governments toward control of domestic shipowners. The UK
is unwilling either to press British shipowners to forego the Cuban trade
or to place restrictions on the areas of navigation of British-registered
ships. The Greek government has made it unlawful for Greek-registered
ships to sail to Cuba* but does not prevent Greek shipowners from using
their foreign-registered ships in the Cuban trade. Lebanon has no ship-
owners who control shipping in the Cuban trade, hence cannot exert
pressure effectively through control of shipping corporations. However,
Lebanon has legislation pending (it will not become effective before the
end of May 1964) that will enable the government to forbid Lebanese-
registered ships from sailing to Cuba. Unfortunately, virtually all
firms presently controlling Lebanese..-flag ships in. the Cuban trade are
incorporated in the UK or Greece, and if they find it profitable, these
owners can transfer to the British flag any of their Lebanese-flag ships
which they wish to continue in the Cuban trade.
The great reduction in the number of arrivals of Free World ships
in Cuba in 1963 compared with. 1.962 (see Table 2) was achieved essen-
tially by three measures, two of which were imposed by Western govern-
ments on their shipowners One of these measures, and the most effec?-
tive, was the exertion of governmental pressure on dome stic shipowners;
another was the establishment of legal restriction on. voyages to or from.
Cuba, and was employed by Greece, 401 West Germany, Panama, Liberia,
Except for a few ships that were time-chartered for the Cuban trade
before the effective dates of the Greek legislation.
** Greek legislation became effective rather late in 1963, and, there-
fore, the reduction in Greek-flag shipping to Cuba is apparent only since
October 1963.
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Honduras, and, apparently, Japan. Finally, US action to deny US
government-financed cargoes to ships that have voyaged to Cuba since
1 January 1963 has had a deterrent effect.
As shown in Table 3, although only about 36 percent of the total
number of voyages to Cuba of Free World ships in 1963 were made
under the British flag, nearly 62 percent of the total of such Free
World voyages were made by ships controlled by British firms. On the
other hand, although Lebanese-flag ships made 17 percent of the total
of such voyages, no ships controlled by Lebanese firms made such
voyages. Of the 43 Lebanese-flag ships (making 64 voyages to Cuba in
1963), 24 were controlled by British corporations, 18 were controlled
by Greek corporations, and 1 was controlled by a Swiss corporation.
Analysts:
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S-E-C-R-E-T
Table 1
Distribution of Free World Voyages in Cuban Trade
by Flag and Nationality of Controlling Firm
First Quarter and March 1964
Voyages
Percent of Voyages
Flag
Controlling Firm
Flag
Controlling Firm
Nationality
First Quarter
March
First Quarter
March
First Quarter
March
First Quarter
March
British
43
21
58
27
48.9
53.8
65.9
69.2
Greek
9
3
19
10
10.2
7.7
21.6
25.6
Italian
2
1
2
1
2.3
2.6
2.3
2.6
Lebanese
23
13
26.1
33.3
Moroccan
2
2
2.3
2.3
Norwegian
3
1
3.4
1.1
Spanish
3
3
3.4
3.4
Yugoslav
3
1
3
1
3.4
2.6
3.4
2.6
Total
88
39
88
39
100.0
100.0
100.0
100.0
4
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S-E-C-R-E-T
Table 2
Distribution of Free World Ships and Voyages in Cuban Trade
by Flag and Nationality of Controlling Firm a/
1962-63
1962 1963
Belgian
British
Chilean
Danish
Dutch
Finnish
French
German (West)
Greek
Honduran
Italian
Japanese
Lebanese
Liberian
Monacan
Moroccan
Norwegian
Panamanian
Spanish
Swedish
Swiss
Turkish
Uruguayan
US
Yugoslav
Indeterminable
Total
Number of Ships
Number of Voyages
FF1
Controlling
Firm
Flag
Controlling
Firm
2
2
2
2
100
233
164
344
1
3
4
6
22
24
41
43
15
15
20
20
3
3
3
3
1-2
13
13
14
70
68
81
79
123
55
172
77
1
2
28
30
36
38
26
26
27
27
39
50
22
24
1
1
2
2
5
5
56
53
88
80
14
15
14
18
38
42
30
30
44
44
4
4
4
4
1
1
3
3
23
23
31
31
607
607
864
864
Number of Ships
Number of Voyages
Flag
Controlling
Firm
Flag
Controlling
Firm
64
122
133
229
1
1
1
1
1
1
1
1
4
7
8
16
2
2
2
2
59
42
99
71
10
10
16
16
1
1
1
i
43
64
2
3
4
1
9
1
6
3
14
4
4
4
8
8
2
2
3
3
1
1
6
6
12
12
2
2
207
207
371
371
a. The statistics in this publication are the result of a review of all intelligence available concerning the
number, registry, and ownership of all ships arriving in Cuba since 1 January 1962. The data are consistent with
those shown in the monthly publications on Cuban shipping published by this Office and supersede data for 1962
published in CIA/RR CB 64-18, US Sanctions Curtail Free World Shipping, March 1964, SECRET/NO FOREIGN DISSEM.
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S-E-C-R-E-T
Table 3
Percentage Distribution of Free World Flags and Shipowners in Cuban Trade
1962-63
1962 1963
Nationality
Flag
Controlling
Firm
Flag
Controlling
Firm
Flag
Controlling
Firm
Flag
Controlling
Firm
Belgian
0.3
0.3
0.2
0.2
British
16.5
38.4
19.0
39.8
30.9
58.9
35.8
61.7
Chilean
0.2
0.5
0.5
0.7
Danish
3.6
4.0
4.7
5.0
0.5
0.5
0.3
0.3
Dutch
2.5
2.5
2.3
2.3
Finnish
0.5
0.5
0.3
0.3
0.5
0.5
0.3
0.3
French
2.0
2.1
1.5
1.6
1.9
3.4
2.2
4.3
German (West)
11.5
11.2
9.4
9.2
1.0
1.0
0.5
0.5
Greek
20.3
9.0
19.9
8.9
28.5
20.2
26.7
19.1
Honduran
0.2
0.2
Italian
4.6
4.9
4.2
4.4
4.8
4.8
4.3
4.3
Japanese
4.3
4.3
3.1
3.1
0.5
0.5
0.3
0.3
Lebanese
6.4
5.8
20.8
17.2
Liberian
3.6
2.8
Monacan
0.2
0.1
1.0
0.8
Moroccan
0.3
0.3
0.6
0.6
1.9
0.5
2.4
0.3
Norwegian
9.2
8.7
10.2
9.3
2.9
1.4
3.8
1.1
Panamanian
2.3
1.7
Spanish
2.3
3.0
4.4
4.9
1.9
1.9
2.2
2.2
Swedish
4.9
4.9
5.1
5.1
1.0
1.0
0.8
0.8
Swiss
0.5
0.3
Turkish
0.7
0.7
0.5
0.5
Uruguayan
0.2
0.1
Us
0.5
0.3
Yugoslav
3.8
3.8
3.6
3.6
2.9
2.9
3.2
3.2
Indeterminable
1.0
0.5
100.0
100.0
100.0
100.0
100.0
100.0
100.0
100.0
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S-E-C-R-E-T
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NO FOREIGN DISSEM
SECRET
NO FOREIGN DISSEM
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