"دليل الخليج. مجلد I. القسم التاريخي. الأجزاء Iأ و Iب. ج.ج. لوريمر ١٩١٥" [‎٣‎٣‎٦] (١٧٨٢/٤٧٩)

new line secured without difficulty the date and passenger traffic between
the ports of the Persian Gulf and those of the Levant and Black Sea, for
on this run there was no competing company ; but the trade thus obtained
was limited in amount and was restricted to certain seasons of the year.
In the general carrying trade between Europe and the Gulf the new line
made little headway, and after the first some difficulty seemed to be experi
enced in obtaining full cargoes for the outward voyage. Wood, kerosine
and sugar continued to be the chief exports brought out by the Russian
steamers ; for their other cargo there was little sale, their cottons being
undersold by Indian manufactures and thoir chintzes outclassed by others,
In January 1903 there was still no regular contract between the Company
and the Russian Government, but under an informal agreement with M. de
Witte the Company continued to send out four ships a year and to receive
an annual subsidy of 200,000 roubles (£21,000). At this time negotiations
were on foot for the establishment of a regular contract for 20 years, but
the matter was held over for consideration by the Department of Merchant
Shipping then in course of formation under the Grand Duke Alexander
Mikhailovich. At length, at the end of March 1903, it became known
that the relations of the Company and the Russian Government had been
placed on a clear footing by a contract. Under the agreement an annual
subsidy of 200,000 roubles was granted by the Government for 12 years in
consideration of the despatch of four steamers to the Gulf in each year by
the Company. The Suez Canal dues paid by the Company were also to be
reimbursed by the Russian Government. Control over the selection of the
Company's principal representative in the Gulf was reserved by the Russian
Government to themselves. This contract, recommended by the Council or
the Empire, was sanctioned by the Tsar in April 1903, and shortly after
wards it was announced in the " Odesski Listok " of 25th April (8th May)
that two new steamers would be specially built for the Persian Gulf service
in Russian yards. A notice issued from the head ofhee of the Russian Steam
Navigation and Trading Company at Odessa which reached Rushehr in
June 1908 explained the local organisation and working of the Company.
The chief office in the Gulf had been established lat Bushebr under a
M. Pavloff, and subordinate agencies had been, or would shortly be, created
at Masqat, Jashk, Bandar 'Abbas, Lingeh, Muhammareh and Rasrab.
Cargo and passengers would be carried direct by the steamers of the
Company's line to and between these ports, also to Aden, Jibuti, Jiddah,
Suez, Port Said, Jaffa, Bairut, Smyrna, the Dardanelles and Constantinople,
and would be accepted for transhipment to other places in the Mediter
ranean and Black Seas. In consequence of the reorganisation Messrs. Hotz
& Son lost their position as the Company's agents at Bushehr,