Commercial refineries throughout the free world supply POL products to 1st Log. Large ocean terminals at these receiving points are equipped with modern docking and pumping facilities. These samples are clinically analyzed to insure they meet required military specifications. Once the product has been approved, it is pumped from the tanker ships, through hoses and pipelines, to nearby storage areas or into smaller tankers for distribution along South Vietnam's coast. This is a job requiring speed and coordination and is carried out by the petroleum operating companies at each port.
Delays are both militarily and monetarily costly.
1st Log soldiers from petroleum companies work around the clock to off-load and store petroleum shipments. All tankers must he off-loaded as quickly as possible, usually within 40 hours of their arrival. The distribution of POL products from the port to the forward areas is a complex operation. 1st Log ocean terminals to their inland storage facilities. Barges and coastal tankers are utilized almost exclusively by Saigon Support Command to supply units in the Mekong Delta.