423 
needed to speed up the work and carry it out professionally. The 
Cubans obligated themselves to supply the labor force needed for 
the construction and to provide such materials and equipment as 
were available in Cuba. The Soviets gave the Cuban Government 
a loan covering the entire construction cost, both in pesos and in 
rubles. The Cubans were to repay the loan by servicing Soviet high 
seas fishing vessels in the port of Havana for a period of 10 years 
from the date of the termination of construction. 
Soon after the agreement was signed in Havana, the Cuban missile 
crisis erupted and delayed somewhat the beginning of the construction. 
In February 1963, the Cuban Government officially announced the 
beginning of the construction of Havana Fishing Port, although the 
excavation had already begun in December 1962 as soon as the Amer- 
ican naval blockade was lifted. After 34% years of construction, the 
Havana Fishing Port was officially opened on July 26, 1966, the 
seventh anniversary of Castro’s rise to power. The Soviet fishing fleet 
began full use of the port as their supply and transshipping point 
in September 1966. The total cost of the project was 37 million 
Cuban pesos, a 300 percent overrun of the original cost estimate 
of 12 million pesos. 
In order to pay back their loan, the Cubans must continue servicing 
Soviet fishing vessels in Havana until July 26, 1976. The original 
agreement provided, however, for an extension if the entire loan is 
not repaid by 1976 or (in case the loan were paid) if both Cuba 
and the U.S.S.R. agreed to do so. In view of the unfavorable Cuban 
balance of trade it must be expected that the Cubans will continue 
servicing the Soviet fleet as long as Castro remains in power and 
perhaps even afterward. 
Soviet efforts to establish a transshipment and supply base on the 
strategic island of Mauritius in the Indian Ocean have met with varying 
degrees of success. In 1970, a fisheries cooperation agreement was 
signed by Mauritian and Soviet representatives which: provided for 
crew exchanges and aid to Mauritius for the development of its fishing 
industry. However, only 15 Soviet fishing vessels each year would 
be able to refuel at Port Louis, a small number in comparison with 
Las Palmas in the Canary Islands where 360 Soviet vessels called 
in 1968 alone. The Mauritian Government was under some pressure 
from several European and African nations to limit the extent of 
fisheries cooperation with the U.S.S.R. For example, the British and 
South African Governments expressed concern at the signing of the 
agreement, which was concluded suddenly and without the prior 
knowledge of either. Both governments seemed to feel that the Soviet 
Union had gained a vital foothold in the Indian Ocean, although 
the Prime Minister of Mauritius assured them that the Soviets would 
not be authorized to establish a naval base on the island. In 1971, 
the Mauritian Government, pressured by the British, was forced to 
buy back at a loss a fueling station which it had sold to the Grand 
Port Ocean Terminal Company, a firm under Soviet control.’ 
Although fisheries aid to Mauritius continues in the form of fishery 
development surveys and the training of fishermen, no recent moves 
have been made to increase the number of vessels permitted to supply 
in Port Louis. 
17 Le Mauricien (in French), December 4, 1971. 
