WATER TRAFFIC ON THE ODER RIVER

• Document Type: CREST
• Collection: General CIA Records
• Document Number (FOIA) /ESDN (CREST): CIA-RDP82-00457R006200770012-0
• Release Decision: RIPPUB
• Original Classification: S
• Document Page Count: 3
• Document Creation Date: November 16, 2016
• Document Release Date: March 13, 2000
• Sequence Number: 12
• Publication Date: November 22, 1950
• Content Type: REPORT

CLASSIFICATION
T/Ce=1, - U.S. CNLY
Approved ForReleaseNRIMMTattIKVE-Writtp06200771ktiVa- NO.
IINFORMATION REPORT
CD NO.
25X1A
COUNTRY Poland/Go rmany Gretts4plaMilhAtovalala DATE DISTR, 22 NOV SO
SUBJECT Water Traffic on the Oder River NO. OF PAGES 3
A 10 ts'lk
PE ACE
/31.)QUIRED
DATE OF
INFO,
25X1A
25X1A
NO. OF ENCLS.
(LISTED BELOW)
SUPPLEMENT TO
REPORT NO. 25X1X
1. Water traffic on the Oder River is limited to vessels owned by the Soviet-
German Navigation Company, a Soviet stock company, and to Czech and Polish
shipaing. Barge traffic extends from Szczecin (Stettin) at the mouth of the
Oder upstream as far as Kozle. Beyond Kozle the river becomes too shallow
to carry barges, although there apparently exists a joint Czech-Polish plan
to connect the Oder by canal with the Danube. The Oder transportation system
serves Upper Silesia by means of the Gliwice Canal, formerly called the Adolf
Hitler Canal, whose Oder aerminus is Kozle. At Ratzdorf (053/V30) traffic
from the Veisse River enters the Oder; at Ftrstenberg the Spree Canal fram
Berlin enters the Oder, and at Hohensaaten the Hohenzollern Canal from Berlin
flown into the river. The Gliwice Canal has not yet been restored to use.
2. From Kozle to Wroclaw (Breslau), a distance of 162 km., the Oder is very narrcw.
and shallow. Sufficient depth on this stretch is maintained by means of a
large reservoir located northeast of Kozle and by a series of 22 locks, each
of which is long enough to accommodate one tug and a tau of three barges.
Because there is very little current, barges are towed downstream as far as
'areclau. The trip in either direction requires from too and one-third to
three days. The trip from aroclau to Cryan?, a distance of 460 km., is made
by current-propelled barges in six or seven days. Tugs tow the barges back
upstream to aroclaw in ten to twelve days. A tow contains from three to nine
barges depending on the size and load of the barges and the power of the tug.
Barges are towed 20 kn. from Gryfino to Szczecin because of the lack of current
in this stretch of the river.
3. The administrative offices of the Polish Oder Navigation Company are located
at Ulica Eleczkowska 40/50 in Jroclawa The company has a branch office in
Szczecin as well as small offices in Nazi?, nalczyeo (P52/C12)? Nowa Sol
(052/240), Krosno (053/t700) and Gryfino (054/053). There are customs inepec-
tion stations at Krosno and Gryfino and docnment inspection s.,ationc at a
small village at the mouth of the Neisce aver and at Gryfino. The crews
of the barges and tugs are not permitted to go ashore at any point between
CONF/DENTL
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CONFiEr..::??T:AL acoordan with the
;etter of 13 October 197 from the
.Director of Central intelii once to the
Archivist of the United States.
Next Revicw Date: 2008
Approved For Release 2000/05/18 : CIA-RDP82-004
Document No,'
.
o hange It Class.
DecIat'sified
s."Changed Tc: TS S
Aut 1.: AULiU2
Date:
Approved For Release 2000/05/16: CIA-RDP82-00457R006200770012-0
eT/CONTROL - U.S. OFF.I
,e-ena
CENTRAL INTELLIGENCE AGENCr
-2-
25X1A
Krosno and Gryfino. Border controls are strictly enforced in order to prevent
illegal border crossings. No Polish barges are allowed to enter the Soviet
Zone of Germany. At one time barge and tug crews contained many Silesian
Germane. Theme have since been replaced by Poles, and at present only Polish
nationals are employed by the company.
There are approrianately 1200 Polish barges on the Oder, almost all taken as
reparations from the Germans at the end of World War II. About 500 barges
are either being repaired or in need of repairs at the present time. Repair
yards for barges and tugs are located in 'Cozies. Wroclaw and Szczecin. In
addition, there are 19 yards along the Oder at which new vessels are built.
These include three yards in 'Cozies, three in Szczecin, four in aroclaw and
one each in Malnia, Rogi (P51/726)0 Dobrzen (D8bern)0 Opole, Brzeg, Katowice,
Ualezeee, Glogaw, and Nowa Sol. The barges have a capacity of from 100 to
900 tons. Two men are assigned to barges of from 100 to 300 tons, throe to
barges of from 300 to 600 tons and four to the largest barges. Barges are
eonsecutivelynembered from 100 to 1300 and are identified by the number and
either the nerds tiOdra-Kozle? or the letter 112111 (for Zegluga - navigation)
painted in white on a red background on each side near the bow.
About 62 tugs handle the Oder barge traffic. Of these, 30 are attached to the
port of Kozles 22 are based in /reel= and 10 in Szczecin. The first group,
which circulates between Kozle and Jroclaw., consists of tugs of from 150 to
300 hp. and manned by about seven mon. The tugs based in -,Iroclaw are more
powerful. The tugs in both ports are either of German origin or were bought
after ':Jorld Jar II from the Netherlands. Those based in Szczecin aro of from
100 to 250 h.p. and have a five man crew. The following ex-Gorman tugs are
based in Jroclaw:
Name
Hors2222a
Craw
DOLKO I
750
12
SLASK
1050
14
KOPURNIK
750 ,
12
GRUNWALD
500
12
KORDECKI
500
10
WALBRZYCH
400
10
SIKORSKI
350
10
KRASIUSKI
450
10
NANKIER
350
10
6. In addition to the vessels of the Polish Oder Navigation Company, there are
about 60 Polish barges of from 100 to 350 tons capacity attached to the port
of Szczecin which carry gravel dredged from the river bed near Bielinek for
use in reconstructing Szczecin. These barges are toted by Szczecin citiy-tugs
and are marked with the words nOdra-Szczecin' in white letters on a red tiaolo-
ground-
?. Czechoslovakia has on the Oder about /CO barges of 350-900 tons capacity and
21 taps of 200 to 750 h,p. Ten tugs are based in Kozle? six in 7froclau and
five in Szczecin. The Czech barges and tugs belong to the Czechoslovakian
Oder Navigation Company (CSPO)s, and can be distinguished from the Polish -
veosols by the letters COM and a four digit number in the case of barges,
or the vessels name in the case of tugs, painted in black letters on a white
backgeound. Tug stacke are painted with a red stripe and one blue star. The
Czechs no longer employ Germans in the crews of their vessels on the Odor,
although they are known to do so on the Elbe River fleet. There is close
collaboration between the Poles and Czechsvand the vessels of both countries
form a common pool.
CONF iENTIAL
SE T/CONTROL - U.S. OFFICIALS ONLY
Approved For Release 2000/05/18 : CIA-RDP82-00457R006200770012-0
Approved For Release 2000/05/18 : CIA-RDP82-00457R006200770012-0
k_TLA
T/CONTROL - OF LPAlkopAIIcmizrONGINIPILL
CENTRAL INTELLIGENCE AGENCY
?3.
1?
25X1A
3'. Cargos of Polish and Czech barges consist largely of coal and coke trans-
ported by rail from the mines of Upper Silesia to Kozle and shipped to Szczecin
for use in that city's factories or for export. On the upetream trips barges
are loaded with lion ore shipped from Sweden and destined for the foundries
and smelters in ntowice, Czechoslovakia.
9. A Soviet corporations, the Oder Navigation A.G.s, also operates a fleet of
barges on the Odor. Barges from Berlin carry imports and exports of the
DDR via the Uohenzollern Canal to Szczecin* coal and coke from Poland is shipped
to Berlin from Kozle via the Oder-Spree Canal.. On the southern route the
Soviet corporation operates about 800 barges of from 200 to 750 tons capacity
and about 75 tugs of from 120 to 800 ii ..p The main border control point for
this route is at FIrstenberg. In Poland Soviet vessels are subject to customs
inspection at Krosno and document inspection near natzdorf. The Soviet-owned
barges are manned entirely by-Cerman crews. The barges are identified by a
yellow triangle on tfhich is printed in black a number and letters of the
Cyrillic alphabet., Soviet tugs are identified by the name in Russian painted
in black on a red background. On the stack is a red stripe.
SEOMIT/CriNT?OL - U.S. orrIcIlLs ONLY
Approved For Release 2000/05/18 : CIA-RDP82-00457R006200770012-0