Sunday, May 14, 1972
N. Viet-Bound Ships Change Course - DoD
WASHINGTON (AP) --The Pentagon reported Friday that several merchant ships heading for North Vietnamese ports have apparently changed course because of the American mine blockade.Officials refused to give any specifics or say where these ships are now headed. But it appears likely that some may have chosen instead to go to Chinese ports where their cargoes could be moved to North Vietnam by land means.Pentagon spokesman Jerry W. Friedheim would say only that "several other ships" from the group of 25 that were headed for North Vietnam at the time the U.S. mines were laid Monday "may have diverted."Thirteen of the 25 ships were under Soviet flag.Friedheim also disclosed that two, and possibly three, additional merchant vessels left Haiphong harbor before the U.S. mines became activated at 7 a.m. EDT Thursday. These are in addition to the five vessels which Friedheim reported Thursday as having left the harbor.Friedheim gave no reason for the delayed report, adding only that the Pentagon was just updating its information.The three additional ships were identified as one Soviet and one Somalian and apparently a second Soviet vessel, but this was not confirmed.With the Pentagon's latest report, the ships bottled up in Haiphong harbor number 28 or 29. The doubt as to the exact number was attributed to the uncertainty over whether two or three additional vessels left the harbor.Friedheim had reported Thursday that about three or four smaller coastal freighters remained in some of the six secondary ports that were also mined. Friday he identified these as two ships of Chinese registry at Vinh and two Soviet flag vessels at Cam Pha.Friedheim called the mine barriers 100 per cent effective so far, noting that no vessels have tried to enter or leave North Vietnamese ports since the delayed-action mines were activated.In Houston, Defense Secretary Melvin R. Laird said Friday North Vietnam has made no effort to clear U.S. mine fields from seven of its ports.Laird said President Nixon expected Russia and China not to challenge the blockade of the North Vietnamese ports."The Russian response, I believe, is a tempered response. It is one we expected." Laird said. "All of the positive and the negative points were thoroughly considered before President Nixon made the decision to order the blockade."Laird declined comment on reports that Soviet minesweepers were enroute to the North Vietnamese coast to clear shipping lanes through the U.S. mines activated Thursday."There are no minesweepers presently engaged in mine sweeping activities in the areas that have been mined by the United States Navy," Laird said. "I can tell you that in the area of the battle and in the territorial waters of North Vietnam, there are no minesweepers currently carrying on such operations."Friedheim refused to comment on whether the Soviets are moving naval vessels into the area in response to the American mining.There were reports from Tokyo that a Soviet cruiser and guided missile destroyer were headed through the Tsushima straits, possibly for the Gulf of Tonkin. However, Friedheim dismissed this by saying the Soviet navy operates worldwide."N. Viet-Bound Shops Change Course - DoD", by (AP), published in the Pacific Stars and Stripes on Sunday, May 14, 1972 and reprinted from European and Pacific Stars and Stripes, a Department of Defense publication copyright, 2002 European and Pacific Stars and Stripes.