Intelligence Memorandum
Shipping to Cuba in the Third Quarter8
Copy No.
Foreword
This is oneeries of reports published2 which are designed to analyze the nujnbor and flags of merchant ships arriving in Cuban ports and the level and composition of imports and The statistics are obtained by aggregating data on individual voyages.
All ship tonnages reported are expressed as gross register tons hicheasure of tho cubic spacehip expressed in tons at the rateross register tonubic feet. The GRT figures assigned to the shipping discussed arc taken from Lloyd's- Register of Shipping. hip calls at several Cuban ports, it is counted as one arrival. The volume of cargo is expressed in metric tons. Dry cargo data include that carried on passenger ships as well as on dry cargo ships. Yugoslav shipping is included in Freo World shipping, Data8 are preliminary. Because of rounding, components may not add to the totals shown.
CENTRAL INTELLIGENCE AGENCY Directorate of Intelligence8
INTELLIGENCE MEMORANDUM
Shipping to Cuba in the Third Quarter8
Summary
The main features of shipping to Cuba in the third quarter8harp increase in. imports ofarked drop in exports of sugar,ontinued absence of Sovietequipment deliveries'. There have been no major Soviet military deliveries to Cubaen-month period (since. This is the longest periodilitary delivery since at
Cuba's total seaborne foreign trade wasercent in the third quarter8 compared with the same quarter ercent' increase in imports was more than offsetpercent decrease in exports, as shown in the following tabulation:
No to_; Thie .memorandum was produced by CIA. It aae prepared by the Office of Economic Research and was coordinated with the Office of Strategic fteeearch. Aeide from the eaovdjntvti-oTi of rwvtoerz, -of ^tn'p arrivals
... . this memorandum hae
not been coordinated outsiae of CIA.
July-September
8 -
Tons Percent Tons Percent Change
of seaborne
From
countries
From Free World
To
To Free World
49
4-9
+12
-4
-23
4
increase in imports stemmed largelypercent rise in Soviet deliveries of cruda oilons)percent rise in petroleum productsons). These increasesfor the low volume imported during the second quarter8 and brought deliveries of petroleum in the first nine monthsevelercent above that of the corresponding periodhere also weren imports of chemicals and fertilizer in the third quarter and significant decreases in imports of foodstuffs, metal products, and general cargo. Substantial increases in exports of molasses and ores were overshadowed byon decline in total shipments of sugar, the resultoor.sugar crop. Sugar exports to the USSR droppedons and those to tho Free world0 tons. linesonly partly offset bySv'^avoommunist countries.
-
As Cower ships entered Cuban sugar ports, tho total number of ship arrivals declined, the lowest quarterly total since the fourth quarter Soviet and Eastern European ship arrivals accounted for all of the decline, Cuban arrivals increased fromnd Free World arrivals wore about the same aa in tha third quarterhips from Cyprus) and the United) accounted for more thanercent of theroo World arrivals.
Arrivals
i" ThfrShiP "rivals in Cuba in thelight decline from the
rrivals in the corresponding quarter? (see Gross register tonnage, however, increased slightly. Soviet and Eastern European ships accounted for the decline in number of arrivals, as shown in the following tabulation!
Percentage Change
Eastern Europe
Cuban 25
Free World
2. oviet arrivals in the third quarter wore significantly below tho record levelrrivals in each of the previous two quarters. The number of dry cargo) was tho lowest in the past two years (nee Figure Theanker arrivals were significantly above therrivals. -in the corresponding quarterowover,pproached the record level ofrrivals in the second quarter Soviet ships delivered'ercent of Cuba's imports in the third quarter,all of the crudo oil andercent of tho. petroloum products. Eastern European arrivals, which carriedercent of total imports, wore at the lowest quarterly level in two years. Ships flying the Cuban flagercent of total imports.
3. Theree World arrivals in the third quarter deliveredercent of total imports. Calls by tankers (mostly to load molasses) increased, while calls by dry cargo ships declined. Although the flags ofree World countries appeared at Cuban ports, the United Kingdom and Cyprus accounted for more thanercent of Free World arrivals, as ohown in tho following tabulation;
Flaq
Kingdom
rigutt J. Tht Sov-iti Ship KKtunoytt' GUT) En Routt to Cuba onulyaAgo ol Vthlclzi
4. Ton of the Free World ships (six Cypriot, two Greek, one Lebanese, and one Somollan) wore ownod or controlled by Greek shipping magnate Achilles Frangistas. Four of these ships dolivere cargoes from the USSR, and six discharged cargoes (primarily fertilizer) loaded at Free World ports. The increase in Cypriot-flag arrivals and thein Greek and Lebanese-flag arrivals is the
result of the transfer of Frangistas* ships during the past year from Greek and Lebanese registry to Cypriot and Somalian registry.
Cargoes
5. The volume of seabomo trade handled at Cuban ports in the third quarterercent oelow the level of the corresponding quarter7 (seend, percent decline in exportsprincipally in sugar exports to the USSRmore thanercent increase in imports, as shown in the following tabulation:
Tons)
of trade
(by carrier)
European
26
World
(by carrier)
European
8
World
6. Imports of crude oil increasedercentotalons, and imports of petroleum products jumpedercentotalons, tho second highest quarterly total on record (see Those increases more than made up for declines in deliveries earlier in the year. For the first nine monthsrude oil importsercent highor than in the same periodnd imports of petroleum products were about the same.
There have been no Soviot military deliveries to Cuba since This ten-month gap (through in military deliveries to Cuba is tho longoat since at The longest previous gaps were seven months (from4 tond six and one-half months (from5 to. The current lapsemonth period of military deliveries that ran from6 to Some resupply of ammunition and replacement parts, andew cycle of military equipment deliveries, can be expected in the near future.
Communist countrios were the source ofercent of Cuba's imports in the third quarter80 percent from tho USSR,ercent from Communistercent from Eastern Europe, and lessercent from North Korea. Imports from Communist China were higher than for any quarter during the past throe years. 0 tons of rico imported from China was at least twice the levol of any quartor sincend almost three times that of the second quarter8 (see
Thirteen percent of Cuba's impqrts in tho third quarter originated in Free World countries, the lowest share for any quarter in the last three years. More than one-third of these cargoes were foodstuffshoat and flour from Canada purchased on Soviet account, and corn from Mexico, all carried on Soviet ships. Fertilizer accounted for another one-third of imports from the Free World. Other cargoes included chemicals from Italy and Japan and pharmaceuticals from the Netherlands.
10. Exports in the third quarter declinedercent becausepercent decrease in exports of sugar, the resultoor sugar crop (seend recipitous drop in exports to the DSSR overshadowed other changes in sugarin the quarter, as shown in the following tabulation;
July-September (Thousand Tons)
countries USSR
Communist China Other
Free World countries
Total
7__
870
518
447
966
F-cgote 4. SagaA-LoadJ.nofx.e4 at Guauabal, Cuba, and the. Probable. Soviet sfun Movokuubu-
Load-
ingi Saga*Japan
11. For tho first nine monthsxports of sugar were downercent; Free World andcountries shared proportionately in tho Sugar exports to the USSR, however, wore down0 tons). Japan continued to be tho largest Free World purchaser of Cuban sugar followed by Spain, the United Arab Ropublic, and Algeria. The United Kingdom and Bulgaria were the largest purchasers of Cuban molasses, and Poland received almost half of Cuba's ore exports. of molasses and ores were significantly higher than in the third quarter For the first nine monthshe volume of total exports wasercent below the first nine months
0> cfo ip-
cp- o
.-n
oro i
i
on o>
ail -h
fa
ol #n
o* CM
...
hi j, *
p-l t
i" vol - voltwi
rt! <B|rvj vol
oi co p- *n o
>oi t. vpl rtt u ol->!
si
t ol
m
I
g a
o
3 3
ovo co o>
oil vj rtt cn rt o
o
k
m| rt
rt
1 Svl
I
*3
t - e, o
p-
op- rtig,
rtRI
. 3"
is--
9
coco H OBI
4 VQ vo no
cd cu un h un
On vol unJ
oj
(J 1| 1 *Ol O JV) OIA <Oj <D Cs .'J fOVO OlJl
un| m MO (OVO ONl CO ooivol
N <Oj (O o wB o unit, ir.
is wa!sis
o
Oi
r-o| Onun Ol coir*
1
o *>
a fi
i:
3
III 3
ww *
Free World and Eastern European Ship Arrivals in Cuba, by Flag and Type7 and8
0
Jul-Se?
Table 1.
Cuban Inports, by Coaoocity and Flag of Carrier a/0
UliJifil a
Cuban Imports Carried by Soviety Commodity
Change
(Thousand8
it i
A
1
3 >
3
3
i- j to
el
hi
ili
5 ii
pip i
mm in
IS3 *s
U 3US '5
IEiS
Original document.
Comment about this article, ask questions, or add new information about this topic: