M. Zakharov, S.P. Ivanov, and Ye. Karamzin, 'Instructions to the Captain of the Ship and the Chief of the Military Contingent'

INSTRUCTIONS

to the captain of the ship and the chief of the military contingent

1. The captain of the ship is the senior officer during the transportation of the military contingent.

The captain of the ship is responsible for the voyage of the ship by sea, the delivery of the personnel, weapons, equipment, and property to the destination.

Only he has the right to make decisions in the event of а complication of the situation en route, because of a malfunction of the ship, when meeting foreign vessels, during overflights by foreign aircraft (helicopters), the administration of foreign ports, when passing through straits, and to observe discipline and order on the ship.

The chief of the military contingent, and through him all personnel subordinate to him, are subordinate to the captain of the ship for the period of the voyage at sea and unloading at the destination.

The instructions of the captain of the ship issued through the chief of the military contingent or his deputies are obeyed by all the personnel of the troops being transported unquestioningly.

2. When housing the personnel on the ship and organizing their daily lives for the period of the voyage at sea the chief of the miliary contingent is guided in his work by the instructions of the captain of the ship, the daily routine on the ship, the Internal Service Regulations of the USSR Armed Forces, and the Regulations on transporting troops by rail and water.

II.

1. The captain of the ship is responsible for the ship’s preparation for loading, for loading the personnel, the weapons, equipment, and property, for preserving the secrecy of the loaded cargo, the reliable fastening of the cargo, weapons, equipment, and property of the military contingent being shipped, and for the unloading at the destination. With the administration of the port of loading the captain of the ship prepares the personnel of the loading crews and the personnel of the military contingent taking part in the loading of the weapons, equipment, and cargo, and the safety equipment during the loading work.

2. The captain of the ship coordinates the unloading plan of the ship with the operations group at the port in order to achieve the maximum use of all its useful space and cargo capacity.

3. The captain of the ship is responsible for maintaining the integrity of the cargo (the containers, boxes and other specially prepared covers for equipment and property) loaded on the decks and internal spaces of the ship for the entire duration of the voyage.

He provides systematic monitoring of the condition, the fastening of the equipment and cargo being transported, and the ventilation of the spaces, especially where equipment is located with fuel tanks, the containers for fuel, and other fuel components.

4. Before the ship goes to sea the captain of the ship and the chief of the military contingent are obligated to familiarize all the personnel with the ship’s routine, establish a procedure for the personnel’s presence and behavior on deck and in the ship’s spaces. The usual procedure for carrying passengers should be preserved on ships which are designed to carry passengers, but on cargo vessels where, besides the cargo, equipment, and weapons, there will also be servicemen the appearance of personnel on deck of the ship should be determined by the time, situation, priority, and numbers. It is categorically forbidden for personnel to appear on deck and in open spaces when passing through straits, narrow passages, meeting ships (vessels), and during overflights by aircraft and helicopters.

5. The captain of the ship and the chief of the military contingent are obligated to train the personnel to use the individual and collective rescue equipment, firefighting equipment, and to determine the actions of the personnel being transported in conditions of an announcement of a ship alarm or emergency work, taking the location of the personnel and equipment into consideration.

6. When making entries into the ship’s log about the loading the captain of the ship is obligated not to enter the actual name of the cargo, but the name in accordance with the “cover story” established for this vessel.

7. The port of loading is written in the ship’s log in accordance with the instructions received from the steamship line and the Ministry of the Merchant Fleet. The captain of the ship will receive [instructions] from the Minister of the Merchant Fleet for entries into the log concerning the port of unloading.

8. Make no entries into the ship’s log concerning the loading of people on

a cargo ship.

The captain of a passenger ship makes an entry into the ship’s log about the acceptance of passengers at the port of loading in accordance with the “cover story” established for this vessel.

9. In the event a demand is received from a foreign military vessel to stop at sea or a demand to follow it, the captain of the ship continues to follow to the destination. If foreign miliary vessels accompany the ship the captain of the ship is obligated to also continue to follow to the destination. The captain of the ship uses the right of “SOS” about an attack on the ship and calls for aid to his ships and the ships of other countries.

10. In the event of attempts by individuals or groups to board the ship by force, the captain of the ship and the chief of the military contingent take all physical measures to prevent the pirates from boarding the ship.

If physical measures are insufficient and there is a real threat of boarding the ship and seizing it the captain of the ship is permitted to use weapons and open fire.

The personal weapons of the servicemen on the ship are to be stored in one place without access to them by the personnel. The ammunition stored in magazines is stored in the same place as the weapons. Additionally, have ammunition for personal weapons in stock in several boxes.

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Point II.

to the 3rd page of the instructions for the captain of the ship and the chief of the military contingent making a voyage with cargo

Cdes. Biryuzov and Bolyatko

11. In the event there is no opportunity to take steps to liquidate an attack on the ship by people from a foreign vessel the chief of the military contingent should destroy all the documents constituting a state or military secret.

In a clear threat by foreign vessels to seize our ship, the captain and the chief of the military contingent should take steps toward an organized disembarkation from the ship of all personnel over the side on all available rescue equipment and scuttle the ship, guided by the instructions of the Ministry of the Merchant Fleet.

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11 [SIC, again]. When there is an inquiry from a foreign ship about the destination of the ship the captain should reply that the ship is heading for …..., and has commercial cargo on board.

12. When passing through straits only in extremely necessary cases is it permitted to use the pilots of foreign countries.

13. When passing through straits avoid a possible visit to the ship by sanitary commissions and other people in every possible way, using permissible ways to offer a bribe.

14. When the naval authorities of foreign powers demand the presentation of international nautical documents (certificates) about the presence of cargo and passengers on the ship, indicate that there are no passengers, but as for the cargo, depending on the load and height, it should be indicated either that ship is in ballast or with light agricultural equipment. The captain of the ship is obligated not to report the real name of the cargo.

15. During an approach to the port of destination the captain of the ship should organize a careful observation of the adjacent territory and waters to preclude any acts of sabotage against the ship.

16. During unloading the captain of the ship and the chief of the military contingent strictly observe all the instructions of the captain about the fastest possible unloading and release of the ship.

17. The captain of the ship and his crew as well as all the personnel of the military contingent should pay constant attention and exercise control over the fire prevention measures on the ship during the voyage and at the places of loading and unloading.

The captain of the ship and the chief of the military contingent should:

- determine and equip the smoking places depending on the location of the cargo, weapons, and equipment being shipped;

- indicate the places where firefighting equipment is located and the procedure for personnel of the military contingent to use it;

- have firefighting equipment in the cargo holds, fitted for quartering personnel of the military contingent;

- increase the number of firefighting watches, especially in places where a fire might break out;

- assign special responsibilities to the group fire safety duty officer on the ship;

- systematically wash down the decks and spaces on board with seawater;

- establish constant observation, available water, and additional ventilation where fuel vapors might accumulate;

- verify the presence and correct operation of warning and alarm equipment.

III.

1. The chief of the military contingent supervises the loading and unloading work of the personnel of the military contingent under the direct supervision of the specialists and administration of the port.

2. On arrival of the ship at the destination the chief of the military contingent should organize the security perimeter and the isolation of the unloading area from unauthorized persons, the concealment and secrecy of the unloading work, the security and protection of the unloaded cargo and adopt combat support measures.

3. The chief of the military contingent should have with him a list of all the personnel of the military contingent and a register of the weapons, combat equipment, and property loaded onto the ship.

4. A change of military uniform into civilian clothing is done at the instruction of the chief of the military contingent after the cargo ship is at sea out of sight of the shore.

5. Besides these instructions the captain of the ship is guided by the instructions which the ship captain has.

6. These instructions are destroyed when the documents are destroyed. These instructions are destroyed on arrival at the port of destination.

[handwritten: 4] July 1962