The former stated that the Marines did not have this support capability and suggested that naval assets outside of Pacific Fleet be tapped. wash down the tanks and a ship was brought in especially to take them back to American advisors penetrated the jungles, American warships cruised the Tonkin Gulf, and then it was March 1965 and American Marines landed at Da Nang. I decided to resign my Commission in November 1975 and have been teaching Parenthetically, it should be noted that while everyone attached to one of these battalions was a Seabee, not all were Group VIIIs. Email:mike@lecvietnam.com The base appears to remain in use by the PAVN. Another area of interest has been a comparison of skills between the civilians on the contractors rolls and the Seabees. 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. reluctantly told me that the Korean stevedores were in a hurry to remove six fact I was required to draw up an escape plan in case the port came under Also called. The port area has 21 wharves with a total length of 3,567m with a design depth from -7.5m to -9.4m. Nng (which the French called Tourane) and its port would remain in French hands until 1954, upon the formal dissolution of French Indochina in the 1950s. Subsequently 50 more were added to provide perimeter security for base camps and job sites, bringing new authorized allowances to 24 officers and 738 enlisted men. 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). National Strategy in Southern Vietnam. And few people were quite sure how it had happened. returning home. This was a reactivation of the last Seabee Regiment to be decommissioned when the large Seabee construction effort at Cubi Point, Philippines, came to a close some ten years before. It has been a strange war in many ways, but certain unique operations involving this group are worthy of mention. 2 For more about this interesting situation see "Building the Advanced Base at Da Nang" by Captain K. P. Huff, U. S. Naval Reserve, in Naval Review, 1968. Thanks VetFriends, It was a wonderful moment that we will both remember for the rest of our lives, and we owe it to VetFriends. But as the Seabees in the battalions moved more into the tactical end of the business, there were other Seabees in country who did not; these were Public Works and Construction Battalion Maintenance Unit (CBMU) Seabees attached to the Naval Support Activities headquartered in Da Nang and Saigon, but actually spread all over the country. Champa was an ancient kingdom that flourished in southern Vietnam beginning in the 4th century. Website www.danangportvn.com. I was told [1][3]:2, In August 1967, the headquarters of NSA Danang was moved from downtown Danang to Camp Tien Sha. [before 950; Middle English, Old English < Latin. officially turned over the port in June 1972. For example, at the same base a difference in construction standards for berthing facilities between be Army and Air Force caused unnecessary morale problems. With the change in the nature of the conflict came a shift in the placement of the battalions and in the type of construction to which they were assigned. They built cantonments for thousands of men, hospitals, roads and airfields, warehousing, POL storage, harbor facilities such as piers and ramps, utilities systems, recreation areas, and many other facilities which were essential to the military effort but which in themselves were not necessarily combat oriented. UN/LOCODE VNDAD. Parenthetically, as a matter of comparison, it might be noted that the Army Engineers, who at their peak had 27 battalions in country, had two kinds of battalions combat and construction. each evening and morning. It must be emphasized that offloading at DaNang for the first year was all by lighterage as there were no deep draft piers. with which to work and it caused many problems for us during the stand down of Initially, to counter Viet Cong political influence in the villages, their missions in Vietnam were of two basic types: to construct small fortified camps and support facilities for U. S. Army Special Forces (Green Berets), and to assist Vietnamese civilians in civic action projects in relatively secure rural areas. 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. Collectively these local contractors had accounted for some $75 million worth of construction by the fall of 1966. 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. [1][13][14] Tin Sa terminal contains 13,665m2 (147,090sqft) of warehouse space and 138,251m2 (1,488,120sqft) of yards. In July 1966 the "Bridge Cargo Ramp" (160307N 1081352E / 16.052N 108.231E / 16.052; 108.231) began operations increasing NSA's supply capability. Thus, in August 1965, two new contractors were added Brown and Root of Houston, Texas, and J. For the most part, they tended to concentrate on work of a temporary or emergency nature at scattered Air Force sites. Phone 84 511 821 114. arrival in country and assignment to the 5th Transportation Command. come into the berth where the Sealand vessel was being piloted to. "Although this Seabee Team program is not widely known, I believe it is encouraging to learn of this down-to-earth attempt to assist our friends in Southeast Asia to build better communities for themselves and their families". Its head, also a CEC Captain, now carried the title of Deputy, though the Saigon office became increasingly independent of the main office in Bangkok. Each of the services in Vietnam had its own engineering their planning groups who concentrated on defining their own requirements such as siting, number of units, and the like. WebDeepwater pier synonyms, Deepwater pier pronunciation, Deepwater pier translation, English dictionary definition of Deepwater pier. Apparently roles and missions of the various forces had not been clarified to cover this contingency. The Captain was last off and he told the NSC officer that he (4) Joint service planning standards should lead to compatible systems among services, of what the Navy has called Advanced Base Functional Components. A 1941 graduate of the U. S. Naval Academy, he served aboard the USS Nevada (BB-36) and USS Alabama (BB-60) during World War II. Fax 84 511 822 565. One good example of a component was the 400-bed quonset hospital erected swiftly in Da Nang by one of the earliest battalions in country. North Central region, attracting a part of Laos and Northeast Thailand. As the contract effort went down, most of the non-Vietnamese left the country. Also includes day-to-day activities around the facilities, Street scenes in Da Nang (Doc Lap Street), Club Monsoon, Enlisted Mens Club, messhalls, Club Bamboo for CPOs \u0026 Officers, small boat basin and much, much more. NMCB-10 had been, prior to the Marine landings, the alert battalion on Okinawa, prepared to move en masse to any trouble spot on short notice. To turn (a craft) or make a shift to the port side: To hold or carry (a weapon) diagonally across the body, with the muzzle or blade near the left shoulder. USAID took over sponsorship and financial support of all Seabee Teams in January 1966 when the number of U. S. engineer troops (Army and Navy) in country had increased to the point where team support to the Special Forces was no longer needed. 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. in town that I can not remember the name of and Tien Sha Ramp, which was very These two groups were officers who had come up through the enlisted ranks and were top managers in their trades. Small arms fire and concussion grenades were utilized by pier sentries and VNN Harbor Defense personnel, and the sentries reported two swimmers killed. 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. It was responsible for administering contract construction, including design, in Cambodia, Laos, Thailand, and Vietnam. Service is designed for determination of shipping lines whose vessels put in chosen port or direction. 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. units outlined by President Nixon in 1972. Web14 JULY - - AT 2330H, U.S. Army Sentries in a tower in the vicinity of the deep water piers of Da Nang Harbor reported sighting three swimmers on the North side of Pier #1. Contingency plans must have realistic construction annexes with real substance to them. days, but I remember That as we loaded the tanks they were already turning 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. Included in their numbers were some 4,200 Americans, 41,800 Vietnamese, and 5,700 "free-world journeymen, mostly Filipinos and Koreans. The former were involved in combat engineering functions such as mine sweeping, demolition, and field fortification. 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. [4], Throughout the 17th and 18th centuries, French and Spanish traders and missionaries regularly made landfall at Hi An, just south of Nng. Here it should be noted that the Seabee battalions rotated as complete units. English. [8] After SeaLand began operating container ship services to Vietnam in October 1966, three of its vessels covered routes between the West Coast of the United States and Da Nang. . It was only after they had the Marine jets flying that they managed to give sufficient attention to the proper care and maintenance of their equipment. for a lot of questions if I decided to stop the Sealand ship, which I did. WebMy Son Holyland , Hoi An Ancient City Tour With Night Market , Sampan Boat Ride. the Harbor where the map is marked "piers". This process only took a very few Captain Merdinger is the author of a book, Civil Engineering Through the Ages, and has contributed articles on education, construction, administration, and history to many periodicals and has been invited to contribute an article on viaducts to the Encyclopaedia Britannica. This brought the total number of battalions in 1968-69 to twenty-one. WebShips docked to Vietnam shore or pier The VA Says: This category includes large ocean-going ships of the Blue Water Navy that entered an open water harbor and docked to a pier or otherwise docked to the shore of Vietnam. 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. Phone 84 511 821 114. With the rapid buildup, there were not enough experienced petty officers on active duty to go around and the voluntary recall of reservists yielded little more. Thanks to world-class customer service and a growing community of cargo agents, SeaRates.com is the easiest way for people to ship their goods overseas, or to offer free space in the container, truck or vessel to millions of consignors. China Beach has deep blue water and fine white sand, and is not damaged by pollution, which is known as the Gold Coast of Vietnam. The Navy, on the other hand, used Philco-Ford primarily to furnish Korean artisans who were integrated into a combined Seabee-civilian Public Works Department at Da Nang run by CEC officers. 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. Seven of the Seabees were wounded and two of them killed. A few miles away, Panama Ports Co., a member of Hutchison Port Holdings, has converted a, With plenty of flat land for construction and. Up until 1965 the contractor was engaged largely in building facilities for the armed forces of Vietnam under the Mutual Assistance Program. The sites involved were Pleiku, Bien Hoa, Tan Son Nhut (Saigon), and Da Nang. Vietnam brought an additional 500 officers to active duty, making the total 2,200. One other statistic is also worthy of note; at the time of this report team hospital corpsmen had treated well over 150,000 Vietnamese at sick call. Maintenance of the air strips at Dong Ha, Khe Sanh, and An Hoa was stated as the proximate cause for bringing in the first Construction Battalion Maintenance Unit, CBMU 301, some 300 strong (later more than 500), to Vietnam in May and June 1967. WebFind Headquarters, NSA Danang, Vietnam unit information, patches, operation history, veteran photos and more on TogetherWeServed.com. 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. The port has a total surface area of 154,700m2; total warehouse reaches 5400m2 and container yard up to 49000m2. In like manner, whole battalions were pulled off jobs to go to Vietnam; in some places civilian contracting firms took over for them and in others the jobs just died. Experience ultimately showed that the life cycle of a piece of equipment committed to Vietnam averaged 45 months from the time it was received from the factory in a U. S. depot until it passed out of the system. 9. 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. However, most of the design work for the larger facilities was done under the direction of the OICC, in consultation with the engineers of the affected service and the users, regardless, of whether MACV-DC assigned the construction to the contractor or to the troops. Let us now take a look at the Navy's contributionmade up of disparate elements but brought together under the aegis of the Civil Engineer Corps. In theory the CBMUs were a little better trained to defend themselves as units, but there the difference ended. China Beach was recognized by UNESCO as one of the six fine sand beaches in the world in 1995. Naval Support Activity (NSA) Danang was officially established on 15 October 1965. The total area of container yard at Chua Ve and Tan Vu port branches is 712,110m2 and 3,300 m2 for CFS warehouse at Chua Ve port. Founded in August of 2005, SeaRates is a trusted community marketplace for people to send goods around the world. The port controlled 900,000 square feet of supply depot space, 2.7 million square feet of open-air storage space, and 500,000 cubic feet of refrigerated storage space. In June 1967 it included over 3,200 personnel, a year later 4,900, and by early 1969 the total approached 7,000. Accordingly, it was engaged on rough construction projects which could be dropped immediately when the call came. In Saigon and in the II, III, and IV Corps Areas the Navys public works role, though complex, was much lighter. The concept of public works operating only in a "secure" municipality was to break down completely in 1967. In an address to the Naval War College in February 1968, Rear Admiral A. C. Husband, CEC, U. S. Navy, Chief of Civil Engineers and Commander of the Naval Facilities Engineering Command from 1965 to 1969, touched on the following points which continue to be valid and which are paraphrased below: (1) Assuming we need ports, airfields, etc., in some future Vietnam, we cannot expect to produce them instantly. do with the LST. In the last position, Da Nang port is also in the group of general ports, the focal point of the whole country. As a matter of fact, the term "Public Works was not used in the original planning documents setting forth the tasks and missions of NSA. [3] :2 Veteran C. Young, After 30 years and learning the computer and finding VetFriends, I went to my first reunion of the USS Navasota AO-106. 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. Currently LEC GROUP has been cooperating successfully with many ports in Vietnam (SPPSA, Baria Serece, Ba Son, International Thi Vai, Phu Thai, Cai Lan) with a total length of berths of 2.2 km, with handling capacity up to 300,000 tons / day. Vietnam National Shipping Lines (Vinalines) is the port's authority. In these areas the Army had this responsibility for the U. S. Armed Forces, relying heavily on its contractor, P.A. Despite the size of RMK-BRJ and the Naval Mobile Construction Battalions, there was need for more construction capability than they could provide. 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. 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. Since its first opening in 1860 under French colonial rule, Saigon Port today has become an international port. Currently, Tan Phong port has completed two terminals: My Giang and Doc Let and Ninh Thuy. Ships in this category entered Vietnams inland waterways temporarily as part of their gunfire, interdiction, or support missions. The Navys Headquarters Support Activity in Saigon was being phased out, being replaced by the Armys 1st Logistics Command, and the general assumption in Navy circles seemed to be that the Army would henceforth provide logistic support ashore throughout Vietnam. The cycle of eight months in country followed by six months back in the U. S. for leave, training, and regrouping cut to a minimum the number of individuals leaving the battalion during its deployment in Vietnam. The June 1968 report showed that two-thirds of the battalions man-day effort now went into tactical support, just double that of the previous year; and by January 1969 the proportion had grown to three-fourths. his first star after leaving RVN and was assigned to Germany. 1 is 140m (460ft) long, berths No. WebThe Delong pier was no longer located at Deep Water Pier in Danang upon my arrival in country and assignment to the 5th Transportation Command. the more interesting was that there were only ARVN units providing our In a meeting with 18 presidents of the AFL-CIO Building Trades, Navy officials made known their needs, and this word went out immediately to all the locals in the United States. It is hard to visualize that we could get more courage, stamina, ability, intelligence, and spirit than has been exhibited in Vietnam by the officers who led them, and by our "sailors in green," the Seabees. Later he earned bachelors and masters degrees in civil engineering from Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute and, as a Rhodes Scholar, a doctorate from Oxford University. ACB-i Seabees had been ashore in Da Nang in April 1964 to place in operation a 200-ton drydock for small, fast boats being turned over by the U. S. to the Vietnamese Navy. [10], Media related to Da Nang Port at Wikimedia Commons, Coordinates: .mw-parser-output .geo-default,.mw-parser-output .geo-dms,.mw-parser-output .geo-dec{display:inline}.mw-parser-output .geo-nondefault,.mw-parser-output .geo-multi-punct{display:none}.mw-parser-output .longitude,.mw-parser-output .latitude{white-space:nowrap}160400N 1081400E / 16.0667N 108.2333E / 16.0667; 108.2333. Each battalion had about 10,000 measurement tons of tools, equipment, and supplies valued at $4.4 million. WebChu Lai is a seaport, urban and industrial area in Ni Thnh District, Qung Nam Province, Vietnam. All the resources of the Commandits officers, civil servants, enlisted men, research facilities, design agencies, contracting officeswere pressed into service to meet this new demand Industry was mobilized, construction and maintenance troops were organized, and vast logistics bases were created under the guidance, assistance, and advice of the Civil Engineer Corps. Getting supplies over the beacheswith the Marines taking over from therewas to be the primary mission of NSA. & E., to furnish Repair and Utility support. Located in Quang Ngai province, Dung Quat port is Vietnam's national general seaport. Yet another element of the Civil Engineer Corps was in Vietnam long before the 1965 buildup. In company with the Marines were Seabees of Amphibious Construction Battalion One, deployed from Yokosuka, Japan. 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. Among the career Seabeessecond reenlistments and beyondthere was also a gradual dropping off, the reenlistment rates from FY66 through FY69 being 91 per cent, 86 per cent, 80 per cent, and 76 per cent. [7] As such, Westmoreland recommended the U.S. prioritise developing Cam Ranh Bay instead. This has been a general comment, not only concerning Seabee duty, but also about all duty connected with the Vietnam efforts, and most career CEC officers have served in Vietnam. Da Nang was the keystone, the major, deep water port and the major air base. Ancient folklore says that a dragon emerged port the helm; ported sharply to avoid a shoal. One of the biggest problem areas was real estate Property was not automatically available for our bases but had to be bargained for, haggled over, rented, bought, or condemned as the situation demanded. He wrote me and . The newspapers from time to time carried the unhappy stories of the French and their troubles in Indo-China in the turbulent years following World War II. WEBMASTER'S NOTE The Americans and free-world employees signed on for 18 months. The French overpowered the Vietnamese stationed in Nng, swiftly occupying the city and Tin Sa Peninsula (now called Sn Tr Peninsula). 2,960,941, MILITARY UNITS - Danang Viet Nam, Deep Water Piers. Within six months 5,000 new petty officers had been recruited. [2] In the first two months of 2010 alone, 12 cruise ships docked in Nng, carrying 6,477 passengers. In addition, they also turned out final designs and let small construction contracts. [When I was in Da Nang just before Rich Certainly, round-the-clock operations accelerated the breakdown of equipment, particularly where time out for adequate maintenance was hard to come by. On the other hand, CBMU-301 at times provided a number of supervisors and skilled hands for some of the main public works shops in Da Nang. During the dry season the sand and laterite dust caused problems, and there was more of the same from the soupy laterite during the wet season. Veteran L. Prickett, "Dear VetFriends, Thanks so much for your help! WebQuang Ninh Port is a deep-sea port located in the key economic region of Northern Vietnam. ". Every year, the number of cargo handled through the Port is about 0.6 million tons, the number of vessels docked an average of 150 ships / year. Using excellent film footage shot in-country by navy cameramen, this video documents naval activities at and around the port of Da Nang during the Vietnam War. Non-members can read five free Proceedings articles per month. There were With the goal of being the most modern seaport in central Vietnam, Da Nang port is currently deploying an investment project to expand Tien Sa Port phase 2 to 2018, increasing the capacity of receiving ships to 50,000 DWT and container ships 3000 TEU, at the same time, set up a transshipment warehouse area with an area of 30h to 50ha in the period of 2015-2020. In addition, a Navy destroyer was severely damaged up north and was listing Although the Marines had small organic maintenance and utility units, or could call upon Marine combat engineers on occasion, their need for a municipal public works organization in the form of that provided by the Navy became more readily apparent the longer they stayed in Vietnam. Once the war ended, the chemical residue remained, seeping into Da Nang's water supply. Address: PT Indo Globex Worldwide , Axa Tower 45th Floor , Jl.Dr Satrio Kav 18, Jakarta Selatan 12940 Indonesia. WebNaval Support Activities Da Nang Vietnam War Video militaryvideocom 40.7K subscribers Subscribe 249 89K views 14 years ago Like This Movie Trailer? WebDANANG VIET NAM, DEEP WATER PIERS Air Force Units Army Units Coast Guard Units Marine Corps Units Navy Units Become a VetFriends Member Site Map Search Veterans & Personnel Photos, Humor, Stories & More Military Records & Resources Reunions, Parades, & Events Online Catalog About VetFriends My Profile MetLife Veteran 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. 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. Address: 6 Raffles Quay, Singapore 048580. Da Nang Port: more tourists, more worries, "Seabourn Odyssey Cruise Ship brings 352 visitors to Nng", The Box: How the Shipping Container Made the World Smaller and the World Economy Bigger, "Da Nang Port facilities: Yards and Warehouses", "In Vietnam cruise ships dock at cargo ports", "Da Nang Port facilities: Navigation Channel", https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Da_Nang_Port&oldid=1131352128, Articles containing Vietnamese-language text, Articles with unsourced statements from September 2013, Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike License 3.0, This page was last edited on 3 January 2023, at 19:40. refloated the ship after pumping and welding underwater. U.S. 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. Despite the second report being assessed as a definite sighting, no trace of enemy sappers were found.