In 1971, the 25th Session of the Council for Mutual Economic Assistance (CMEA) adopted a Programme for the Development of Socialist Economic Integration. Later, part of this program became a program of cooperation in the field of oceanography, particularly the chemical, physical, and biological processes of certain important areas of the ocean. To pursue cooperation in this area, referred to as the "World Ocean Problem," five Socialist countries (Bulgaria, the German Democratic Republic, Poland, Romania, and the USSR) signed a special agreement in 1971. Cuba joined this agreement in 1977. The objectives of the cooperative efforts of these countries concerning oceanographic research are reviewed under the following headings: (1) the exploration of the hydrological structure of the ocean and the interaction processes between the ocean, the atmosphere, and the lithosphere; (2) investigation of biological productivity processes; (3) study of chemical processes in the ocean; (4) study of geological history and recent sedimentation processes in the ocean; and (5) application of submarine research technology to exploration of the sea. Descriptions are also provided of the efforts undertaken in upgrading the academic qualifications and professional standards of oceanographers in the member countries that signed the agreement. The major results of the joint research on the World Ocean Problem are delineated, and a list of principal publications of the cooperative countries is appended. (ML)