Czechosłowacka żegluga na Odrze w latach 1947-1957. Część II
The Czechoslovakian Navigation on the Oder River in the Years 1947–1957. Part 2

Summary/Abstract: The exploitation of the Oder River, which – in addition to the Danube and the Elbe – was to be an important route for foreign trade of that country, by Czechoslovakia for transport in the first decade after the Second World War was possible thanks to the Communication Agreement of July 4, 1947. The Agreement guaranteed Poland’s southern neighbour – inter alia – broad rights in the Szczecin harbour (a special zone) and a privileged position in river and sea navigation. On May 12, 1948 a limited liability company was created in Wrocław, called the ‘Czechoslovakian Navigation on the Oder’ (CSPO), and it was responsible for the transport of merchandise on the Oder, its tributaries and the German canals connected to the system, for running a shipyard and auxiliary workshops to repair its own fleet. Part 1, already published, depicts the beginnings of the CSPO, its situation in Poland’s legal system, its internal organisation, the number of its units and the structure of its staff. Part 2, presented now, deals with the economic activity of the Czechoslovakian Navigation on the Oder characterising the principles of the common – with Poland – exploitation of the existing fleet, and the achieved results. Among the questions that have been discussed in detail there are: navigational problems, seasonal character of labour, scarcity of merchandise to be transported on the Oder, high costs of trans-shipment at the ports of Koźle and Gliwice, i.e. the factors that influenced the profitability of foreign inland navigation in Poland. Part 2 is concluded with an analysis of the causes of leaving the Oder by Czechoslovakia against the background of the previous negotiations in Poland concerning a new communication agreement (signed on January 13, 1956), its stipulations and subsequent commercial regulations

• Details
• Contents