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 APPROVED FOR RELEASE: 2009/06/16: CIA-RDP01-00707R000200110013-9

registry. Czechoslovakia continues to depend heavily on foreign-flag merchant ships to assure the movement of its seaborne commerce; at least 10 Yugoslav-flag and 42 western-flag ships were chartered in the first 8 months of 1973. These charter agreements were made with foreign merchant ships under the flags of Yugoslavia, Greece, Liberia, Cyprus, Panama, India, Italy, Somalia, and Lebanon. All ships were chartered on a voyage basis.

Most of the more than 400 officers and ratings serving in the merchant marine are Czechoslovak nationals. A few Russians, Poles, and Bulgarians, usually of officer rank, have been listed as crew members aboard Czechoslovak ships. About 200 additional persons are employed in the land-based operations of COSCO. Historically not a maritime nation, and having no navy from which to recruit qualified seagoing personnel, the Czechslovak merchant marine suffers from a lack of senior personnel, particularly ship-masters. This condition has been somewhat alleviated in recent years by Soviet and Polish assistance in training personnel for the maritime fleet. Seamen receive shipboard training for 3 to 4 weeks and then must pass an examination given by the Ministry of Transportation in Prague. Membership in the Communist Party and the Central Revolutionary Union, which is the maritime labor union, is mandatory for all seamen except medical officers.

H. Civil air (S)

Civil Aviation is fully government owned and controlled. Air transportation and general aviation services are provided by two state aviation enterprises, Czechoslovak Airlines (Ceskoslovenske Aerolinie—CSA) and Slov-Air. There is no private aviation. Responsibility for the administration, regulation, and control of civil aviation is vested in the Civil Aviation Division of the Federal Ministry of Transportation. Civil aviation is viewed by the government both as a means to further its economic and political aims and as a service to the public.

CSA operates an extensive international route network; among the Communist air carriers, only the U.S.S.R.'s Aeroflot has service to more cities. Scheduled flights originating in Prague and Bratislava serve 49 cities in 40 countries. CSA routes reach into

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APPROVED FOR RELEASE: 2009/06/16: CIA-RDP01-00707R000200110013-9