In December 1961 a letter contract with a joint venture of two U. S. firms, Raymond International of New York and Morrison-Knudsen of Asia, Inc.based in Boise, Idahowas executed by the Bureau of Yards and Docks for the construction of "Airfields and Communication Facilities in the Republic of Vietnam. WebOld Building at the point where the junk piers were near the Deep Water piers at entrance to DaNang Harbor. The city is served by Chu Lai International Airport. His primary job was that of OICC, permanently based in Saigon, so the 30th NCR commander at Da Nang continued to exercise the greatest command influence over the Seabee battalions, all of which were in I Corps. port the helm; ported sharply to avoid a shoal. The crew viewed it as a bad omen and wanted nothing more to When it became evident that a U. S. troop build-up was in the offing, BuDocks hastened to enlarge the contractors construction capability to include support of U. S. forces. On April 10, the successful reception of 160,000 tons of Yang Ming Wellhead vessel with capacity of 14,000 TEU docked at Tan Cang - Cai Mep Thi Vai port (CMTV) proved its handling and loading services. A 450m (1,480ft) breakwater provides protection from high waves and monsoons. I got to know one of the skippers CW4 Ryle Built by the French in 1874, Hai Phong port is now the most modern container port in the North of Vietnam. the path of the F4 which was attempting to land at the airfield located across support beam to his hootch fell on him, crushing him. in town that I can not remember the name of and Tien Sha Ramp, which was very . They even became involved in building stable platforms which the Army could fire their 155-mm guns into the again DMZ. We talked on the phone several times in the last few years, and finally we were able to meet in El Paso, TX for a short visit. The first address you sent me is my buddy. All content on this website, including dictionary, thesaurus, literature, geography, and other reference data is for informational purposes only. We raced volkswagens on our time off and we'd go to the range and shoot all day. Heretofore we have assumed that the Armyor perhaps the Marineswould do it. Especially, Lec owns a warehouse system right next to the ports in the. I was told Personnel in public works and the CBMU were shifted as circumstances dictated. Forerunners of the teams, detachments from regular battalions, had served in Ecuador from 1959 to 1962, in Chile from 1961 to 1963, and in Haiti from 1962 to 1963.Subsequently, Seabee Teams were to sea duty in the Dominican Republic, Upper Volta, Costa Rica, the Central African Republic, Liberia, and Thailand. with which to work and it caused many problems for us during the stand down of wash down the tanks and a ship was brought in especially to take them back to [3] :2 WebDescription Elevated view of the deep water piers of Danang as seen from the Monkey Mountains. This was the first appreciable number of Seabees in one unit committed to Vietnam on a continuing basis. In addition, a Navy destroyer was severely damaged up north and was listing the country later, I caught just a few quick camera pictures of the harbor at The terminal has five berths, located along the shore; berth No. Moreover, personnel programs developed to complement the unit rotational concept, enabled the Navy to reduce total Seabee manpower requirements by about 2,000 men. A few 1968 figures may help to put Seabee costs in perspective. 4 is 90m (300ft) long, and berth No. Port Type Seaport. Please contact us today to receive the best support. The total surface area is 500,000sqm including 5 ports (Passenger ship, Nha Rong Khanh Hoi, Tan Thuan, Tan Thuan 2 and Phu My Steel Port) with 3,000m piers, 30 buoy wharves and 280,000m2 warehouse. These suggestions went all but unheeded and there was for all practical purposes, no Public Works Department as such included in the initial NSA organization as planned. As troop strength increased, another small port at the mouth of the Cua Viet, some four and one-half miles from the DMZ, was established in 1967 to provision the Marine combat base at Dong Ha and its satellites. All six received a call from the Navy Pacific Command, to enter our harbor at daybreak (7) Programming requirements by the line item (a barracks or aircraft parking apron, for example) through channels to Congress for authorization and funding has been standard procedure in developing the peacetime annual construction program. [3]:33, In mid-October 1968 the Deep Water Pier complex (160712N 1081250E / 16.12N 108.214E / 16.12; 108.214) on the Tien Sha peninsula was completed, beginning operations in September 1968. WebTin Sa Seaport has a navigation depth of 11 m (36 ft), and is able to receive medium range tankers of up to 45,000 DWT, as well as container ships of up to 2,000 TEUs and large cruise ships of up to 75,000 GRT. Website www.danangportvn.com. These gradually moved away from the coastal plain to the highlands and evolved into sweep operations of battalion size. More Photos from Shannon Nichols (Click on thumbnail to enlarge. This process only took a very few 250,000). daylight shift and arrived at the port to find a newly assigned cargo operations And, of course, there was a significant amount of "self help construction by non-engineer troops who were furnished materials and plans and left largely to their own devices. Starting in May 1963, and negotiated on a yearly basis, these contracts grew steadily, exceeding an annual cost of $100 million in less than five years. The old NAD PTF base at DaNang. You'll be in paradise of best beaches in Vietnam. run Deep Water Pier. utovarni otvor (okrugli prozor na boku broda, (kua, lidmanas) kreis puse, kreisais borts, Dictionary, Encyclopedia and Thesaurus - The Free Dictionary, the webmaster's page for free fun content, Projects are turning the tide on industrial decline; Towns and cities with a proud shipping and dockland heritage seize chance to be transformed, Deeply Embedded ARM Application Macrocells. Thanks for making it possible!" It was usual for a piece of equipment to be in country for about 16 months before it left for overhaul, and on its return it was used for another 16 months. The district invests in IT infrastructure. The Army, hard pressed to take care of itself, wasnt prepared to supply them to the Marines, and the Marines didn't have the capability either. Following the confusion of the explosion, while we Conflicts A place on a waterway with facilities for loading and unloading ships. I was told it was moved, but for the life of me I do not remember to where. Upon activation of NSA in July 1965, however, a fledgling Public Works Department was formed under a CEC lieutenant (H. L. Higgins), soon replaced by a commander (A. E. Floyd), then a captain (R. D. Pinker ton). unloading container ships at CMTV port in particular Vung Tau port in general. ammunition ship being off loaded while at anchor. China Beach was recognized by UNESCO as one of the six fine sand beaches in the world in 1995. SeaRates.com helps to arrange the international cargo delivery from 1m or 50 kg till shiploads. The fact that they were engaged primarily in maintenance and operations where a gradual turnover provided continuity and less disruption made the individual rotation system preferable to the unit rotation. Once again, generalizations as to differences are difficult to make. the radio to talk to the LST Captain, who was Korean, but he was talking only in Thank you so much again for helping me Email cangdn@dng.vnn.vn. Many items they built did fall in this category, however: items such as bunkers, revetments, and sentry towers. Further, they were able on many occasions to engage in civic action projects similar in nature to those of the teams sponsored by USAID. At any given time, normally two of the seventeen CEC officers assigned to a construction battalion would be limited duty or warrant officers. Included in their numbers were some 4,200 Americans, 41,800 Vietnamese, and 5,700 "free-world journeymen, mostly Filipinos and Koreans. The rapid build-up of the battalions brought organizational changes to the whole Seabee structure. and Sao Mai-Ben Dinh serving the petrochemical industry and passenger transport. Apparently roles and missions of the various forces had not been clarified to cover this contingency. In the initial planning for NSA, ComServPac concentrated on the supply, operations, and medical areas but did not devote much attention to Public Works. As a matter of fact, as the contractor's force was reduced, it turned a number of its jobs over to the troops for accomplishment. He therefore urged the inclusion of a Construction Battalion Maintenance Unit (none in commission at the time) and early action to determine the scope of public works functions at NSA. A particular bridge near the Hai Van Pass was destroyed six times. It must be emphasized that offloading at DaNang for the first year was all by lighterage as there were no deep draft piers. In the years prior to FY69 the career Seabees had a slightly higher reenlistment rate than their contemporaries in the fleet, but FY69 marked the crossover point. arrival in country and assignment to the 5th Transportation Command. Nng Port lies at one end of the EastWest Economic Corridor, an economic corridor connecting Vietnam with Laos, Thailand, and Burma. Vietnam 0 (+84) 989 383 767 Culture & Arts Ho Chi Minh City Hanoi Attractions Hoi An Halong Bay Sapa Hue Da Nang Nha Trang Phu Quoc Island Mekong Delta More Home Cruises Special Tours Honeymoon Tours Helicopter Tours Shore Excursions Veteran tanks also fell in. Another stems from the pattern of fighting developed by the Marinesa departure from their amphibious rolewherein they settled in fixed bases and conducted tactical operations from them in much the same manner as did the U. S. Army and ARVN. Thus, in August 1965, two new contractors were added Brown and Root of Houston, Texas, and J. Though the two modes of construction were difficult to compare, the best evidence seemed to indicate that from the governments standpoint the ultimate costs were about the same. Of course, Vietnam was not entirely new to Navy men. operations of running the port of Chu Lai late in 1971. A small amount of material found its way into Vietnam from other countries, but "gold flow" prohibitions by the U. S. precluded this source from becoming more than a trickle. I remained incountry through another typhoon, which let many ammo barges When charges against project funds were made, troop charges were about one-quarter those of the contractor; but the other three-quarters, though hidden, were real enough, for they were charged against other appropriations such as military pay, operations cost, and the like. . These Seabees were broken up into various details, sent to different bases, primarily in support of Game Warden and Market Time operations in the II, III, and IV Corps areas, and assigned the usual public works responsibilities, which included construction and alteration and even extended to small boat repair. a very sweet, usu. Both incidents resulted in thorough searches being conducted of the piers and nearby ships. casualties and take on emergency repairs. WebThe Giant Elephant at Deep Water Pier. very difficult task with only four berths. the second floor which showed the Delong Pier located directly in front of the the more interesting was that there were only ARVN units providing our . Air Force arguments to gain permission from Secretary of Defense McNamara for this departure from policy included the charge that RMK-BRJ lacked sufficient capacity to meet the requirements of all the services in Vietnam and that the U. S. Command in Saigon had short changed the Air Force in the assignment of construction priorities. If paucity of numbers produced a complaint during World War II when the Seabees reached a strength exceeding a quarter of a million, surely one can sympathize with involved operational commanders on the eye of the Vietnam adventure when Seabee (Group VIII) strength world-wide totaled only 8,500 men. Though the bulk of their work was in the Saigon area, public works forces operated country wide. and the total berth length is up to 5,710m. Container tracking service provides a very convenient and easy to use way of tracking the current location of containers with your cargo by container number. Individual projects under $25,000 financed by "Maintenance" rather than "Construction" funds and tactical support construction projects were not subject to this process but were handled by the separate Services who used troops, in house civilians, or contractors, as convenient. The old base at Gulfport, Mississippi, was raised from a totally industrial facility to become the third home port for the Seabees, along with Port Hueneme and Davisville. while I was waiting with all my baggage at the helipad Col. Merbott's driver Camp Tien Sha is a former United States Navy base located in Danang, Vietnam. which came to Danang periodically. NMCB-6, the last peacetime battalion to deploy to the war zone, arrived in May 1966. There were only four deep draft berths from June 9, 1971 until the facility was turned over to the Vietnamese on June 6,1972. (5) If we are to use the ABFC system we must have adequate stocks of the components in our war reserve stocks. [5], In 1847, French vessels dispatched by Admiral Ccille bombarded Nng, ostensibly on the grounds of persecution of Roman Catholic missionaries by Emperor Thiu Tr. In the late summer when the new Brigade Commander, Rear Admiral J. V. Bartlett, CEC, United States Navy, arrived in Da Nang the 30th Naval Construction Regiment was split into two regiments, each under a Captain (C. W. Turner and J. M. Hill). [11] Due to these limitations, cruise ships generally make short staysabout 2 or 3 days at most. Collectively these local contractors had accounted for some $75 million worth of construction by the fall of 1966. WebNSA DaNang Deep Water Piers NSA DaNang Naval Operations Headquarters (known as the White Elephant) NSA DaNang Public Affairs NSA/NSF DaNang Public Works Department NSA DaNang Special Services (military recreation) NSA DaNang Hospital or NSA Station Hospital DaNang Terminal Yes Another area of interest has been a comparison of skills between the civilians on the contractors rolls and the Seabees. 9. Though cost and skill comparisons tend to equate the contractor and military engineer capabilities, it is to be remembered that the primary purposes in maintaining engineer troops are to possess flexibility, to be able to provide rapid initial support to contingency operations and to have the ability to work in a zone of intensive hostilities. Accordingly, it was engaged on rough construction projects which could be dropped immediately when the call came. Some observers have attempted to compare the Armys P.A. The job was begun, albeit under a cloud of doubt and uncertainty as to where it would end. The Vietnam conflict was to trigger the trebling of Seabee strength to a new total of some 26,000 men. WebDeepwater pier synonyms, Deepwater pier pronunciation, Deepwater pier translation, English dictionary definition of Deepwater pier. It provided the needed medical facility in a hurry, but many pieces of its equipment such as galley stovesthough never usedwere of such an age that the manufacturers no longer made spare parts for them or the manufacturers no longer existed. According to the plan of the Ministry of Transport, Quan Ninh port holds the second position in the important group of seaports in Northern Vietnam, after Hai Phong is the central position. This military training was to stand many of them in good stead, for every different type of organization to which they were assigned was exposed to enemy action sometime in Vietnam (by mid-1968 the Seabees wounded in action totaled more than those in World War II and the killed in action rate per total men deployed was four times that of World War II). Though conceived primarily as a base maintenance and operations organization (including trucking operations incident to moving cargo from the Da Nang piers to supply depots), Public Works also found itself in the business of constructing cantonments, dams, utility lines, and, above all, reconstructing battle damage to every type of facility. This was converted to a cost-plus-fixed-fee contract in January 1962 in the amount of some $15 million, plus government furnished materials and equipment which brought the total to more than $22 million. For example, at the same base a difference in construction standards for berthing facilities between be Army and Air Force caused unnecessary morale problems. The M Sn ruins are the former worship grounds for the kingdom and is a famous tourist destination in the Some came from the ranks of the inactive reserve, but most of them were recent college graduates. Finally he A 450 m (1,480 ft) breakwater provides protection from high waves and monsoons. Meanwhile, wharf No. There were, in addition, some special well drilling teams for a short period of time. When the tug boat came in to tie off the barge, the One could expect to receive per battalion 19,000 man days of productive labor a month. After apportionment to the Services in Washington the funds were then returned through the Naval Facilities Engineering Command (NAVFAC-formerly BuDocks) chain to the OICC-RVN who acted as banker, before and after the formation of MACV-DC, for all major military construction funds in Vietnam. One has been the vital, continuing involvement of civilian contractor employees in construction, in maintenance, and in operations while, practically speaking, on the battlefield, ill-defined though it may be. https://www.thefreedictionary.com/Deepwater+pier, [Middle English, from Old English, from Latin, The left-hand side of a ship or aircraft facing forward. In August of 1967 public works support of the I Corps MACV Advisors (mostly U. S. Army with all other services represented, including Australian Army) was started This not only called for roving teams of automotive and generator mechanics, but also brought permanently assigned Seabees from Public Works to all of the major advisor compounds in I CorpsQuang Tri, Hue, Hoi An, Tam Ky, and Quang Ngai. the radio to inform me that an LST which had been at anchor, was attempting to With the projected assignment of a second CEC Flag Officer to Vietnam, the OICC shed his brigade responsibilities and the Regimental Commander in Da Nang, Captain A. R. Marschall, took command of the brigade as well, briefly during the summer of 1967. Champa was an ancient kingdom that flourished in southern Vietnam beginning in the 4th century. WebNaval Support Activities Da Nang Vietnam War Video militaryvideocom 40.7K subscribers Subscribe 249 89K views 14 years ago Like This Movie Trailer? There is little doubt that their influence on Vietnam and its people has been substantialparticularly in relation to the number of Seabees involved. While a vigorous recruiting plan was instituted, the initial buildup of the battalions was accomplished by transferring Seabees out of shore stations all over the worldsome to the battalions and some directly to Vietnam. The cooks, yeomen, medical corpsmen, and other men in essential support roles generally comprised about 15 to 20 per cent of a battalions complement. When CBPac planners had been working on contingency plans with the Marines on Okinawa they had visualized, under the direct chain of command of the Commanding General, the Commander of the 30th NCR (a CEC Captain), wearing a second hat as Commander of the Force Engineer Group (FEG). Monitoring the RMK-BRJ contract was a major part of the OICCs responsibilities. I was to stay and [3], Nng has been a port city for many centuries, long before the first arrival of European traders in the 16th century. Service is designed for determination of shipping lines whose vessels put in chosen port or direction. Join now and never hit a limit. Korean, I kept saying to him to speak English, and that we were in the process Fortuitously, the Navy's Bureau of Yards and Docks under the command of Rear Admiral Peter Corradi, CEC, United States Navy, already had a large, responsible U. S. contractor at work in Vietnam. The new pier facility allowed deep-draft ocean-going vessels to unload cargo directly onto trucks instead of offloading into Lighters while anchored in the harbor. Like the war itself, Navy involvement was piecemeal and gradual, planned almost on the spur of the moment. No further project similar to this one in size and scope came to fruition outside the established construction policies. While P.A. I Corps, comprising all five northernmost provinces of Mouth Vietnam, from the DMZ southward over 200 miles, became the Marines' responsibility. So, NSA Da Nang came into being in mid-1965 as an activity desperately needed by the Marines, which they were not organized to provide for themselves and which no other service seemed ready to provide. In Saigon and in the II, III, and IV Corps Areas the Navys public works role, though complex, was much lighter. Stocked at the Construction Battalion Centers at Port Hueneme and Davisville were repair parts for 1,800 construction hours (two 10-hour shifts for 90 days) for each piece of equipment. officer running around with a flashlight and mumbling to himself I can't believe Although a CinCPac order in April 1965 stated that military logistics operations at ports and beaches at Da Nang and Chu Lai would be accomplished by the Navy, this was considered by the top command in the Navy as a temporary assignment at most. The next significant change, the placing of all Seabee battalions under a Civil Engineer Corps Flag Officer in Vietnam, came with the formation of the 3rd Naval Construction Brigade under Rear Admiral R. R. Wooding, CEC, United States Navy, on June 1, 1966, at Saigon. Veteran L. Prickett, "Dear VetFriends, Thanks so much for your help! He didn't want to tell me what had just happened. n. 1. a. Those in the Pacific Fleet, home ported at Port Hueneme, California, and deployed at various times in unit or sub-unit strength to Guam, Okinawa, Midway, Adak, and Sangley Point, were five in number, each of 525 men. refloated the ship after pumping and welding underwater. Besides the ability to receive container ships with a tonnage of 50,000 DWT, Chan May port is also selected by the Asian Yacht Association to build a stop for yachts in Southeast Asia with the ability to welcome cruise ships. The Support Activity's Public Works Department, during Captain S. C. Gill's tenure as PWO, ultimately numbered well over 2,000 people, of whom nearly 200 were Seabees. (However, it should be noted that all Seabees assigned to duty in Vietnam did not come under the command of 3rd Naval Construction Brigade. Conversely, as the Seabees were called upon for more tactical support, work originally assigned them was shifted to the contractor. (6) It is important that officers of the line and the other staff corps develop an appreciation for the base development problem and that Naval planning staffs in general pay more attention to it. waves of the tug boat caused the barge to rock and one tanks block broke loose The I called the number ans wow he was blown away when he found out who I was. In mid-1965 the break was completed when OICC Republic of Vietnam was formally established as a separate entity with 135 people, including 20 officers. It has been a strange war in many ways, but certain unique operations involving this group are worthy of mention. Use our real-time freight calculator to compare rates, See your cargo location on the map in real-time, Find sailing schedules by route or vessel with multiple shipping lines, A tool for carriers to provide accurate tracking, Visual module with map, showing sea and land routings, Port Authority Vietnam National Shipping Lines, Coordinates 16 7' 34'' N, 108 14' 19'' E, Oil Terminal 21 - 25 feet 6.4 - 7.6 meters. United States combat troops were now committed to the mainland of Asia. During the early years, ten teams (four teams at any given rime), on six to seven month tours, supported the Special Forces, and two others had split responsibilities between military and rural development programs. It was responsible for administering contract construction, including design, in Cambodia, Laos, Thailand, and Vietnam. During World War II the 1,080-man Seabee battalion had come into being, but its successor, which was developed in the following years of peace, was a more mobile highly compact unit with about half the number of men. In May 1966 they awarded a cost-plus-incentive-fee "Turn-Key" contract (a complete package, including design and construction) to Walter Kidde Constructors, a subsidiary of Electric Bond and Share Company, at an estimated cost of $52 million. of the ship and when it blew, instead of blowing up everyone within two miles What have we learned about those areas which are vital to our military posture, and which affect or are affected by the naval civil engineer? Flatbed trailers are unloaded from U.S. Navy ship Comet at a deep water pier in Da Nang, Vietnam during the Vietnam War. [7] As such, Westmoreland recommended the U.S. prioritise developing Cam Ranh Bay instead. He has held design, construction, public works, research, and educational postsincluding a tour as Commanding Officer and Director of the Naval Civil Engineering Laboratory. In World War II in General MacArthur's island-hopping campaign, engineer troops comprised 18 per cent of the total troop strength com mitted. In one way or another every career CEC officer will have some duty with Seabees, and most officers tend to consider Seabee duty among the most rewarding they have experienced. Now ACB-1 was standing by with its full assault teams in the amphibious ships, ready with piers, fuel systems, and appurtenances to support the landing when and if it came. Halfway around the world they were to engage in a frustrating and perplexing war with an elusive foe, where there were no fixed battle lines, yet where there were absolute lines of containment as far as United States forces were concerned, which were self- imposed by political decisions in Washington. I departed Danang immediately following Ship's crewmen hook cable onto a flatbed. As late as 28 May 1965, Chief of Naval Operations sent "do not concur to establishing NSA Da Nang to CinCPacFlt. WebThe Deep-Water Piers were turned over to the U.S. Army on July 30th, and the U.S. Navy no longer provided logistical support in I Corps. I had a great time and intend to go again next year. came and picked me up and said that he had changed his mind. While the Seabees also encompassed a wide spectrum of skills and competence within those skills, they had few, if any, who were capable only of common labor. The formation of MACV-DC did not alter the basic design, construction, and financial responsibilities of the OICC office which still reported back through its own chain to the Naval Facilities Engineering Command. In pre-Vietnam days some of the Seabees considered this something of an extra drill which interfered with their prime interest in construction work. Future programming must be on the broadest possible basis and must be more responsive to the operational commanders needs. These components were invaluable in getting the Seabee construction effort underway even though some obsolescent equipment was in the system.