Soviet merchant ships serving on the Caspian Sea were fitted out with anti mine defenses according to a CIA report published 26 February 1953

In a report published 26 February 1953 supplied an anonymous source information about the Soviet Caspian Flotilla; the source left the region in 1951. According to him were all the ships owned by the Ministry of the Merchant Fleet fitted out with anti mine defenses. He gave the names of ships fitted out with a [must be a degaussing] cable around their hulls as protection against magnetic mines. From Kasptanker the Beriya, Kaganovich, Profintern, Stalin, Molotov, VKP (B), Zhdanov, Lenin, Agamali Ogly, Komintern, Rabochiy, KrestÝanin, Tretiy Internatsional, Vallery Chkalov and Kiliya and from Kaspflot the Azerbaydzhan, Bagirov, Azerbaydzhanskiy, Dagestan, Kuybyshev, Tel’Man, Kafur Mamedov, Katun’ and the Chorok. Further planned Reydtanker to fit out her Akadmik Vil’Yams, Bagration, Sormovets, Akademik Zhukovskiy, Kapitan Krasnov and Metallist in 1951 with so-called anti mine belts.

Source

Report CIA-RDP82-00047R000200460002-6