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'Summary of correspondence relative to the administration of the Port of Basrah and measures for the control of the shipping traffic in Mesopotamia.' [‎31v] (62/134)

The record is made up of 1 volume (66 folios). It was created in 16 Sep 1916. It was written in English. The original is part of the British Library: India Office The department of the British Government to which the Government of India reported between 1858 and 1947. The successor to the Court of Directors. Records and Private Papers Documents collected in a private capacity. .

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58
(C) Buildings and Roads.
Tn the making of a port it is of importance that all buildings should he
located with the greatest care, as it is sometimes found that after buildiiigs ha\e
been erected they are in the wrong position, and interfere with roads, tramlines,
etc., etc.
In the matter of communications I would suggest that it is oi importance
to build some macadamized roads from the wharf to various points in the new
depot.
I understand that there is practically no local stone available, but as until
recently the whole of the stone for the roads oi Rangoon, m tumia, was obtain
ed from Bombay, there seems no reason why stone should not be imported to
Basrah fiom Karachi.
(D) General arrangements of wharves.
Kor permanent use as a commercial port the usual and best arrangement is
to have a continuous line of deep water wharves with roads and transit sheds
behind same, as shown in drawing No. 1 accompanying this note, the light
draught river steamers being accommodated below, but for the immediate military
necessities I think it will be more suitable to provide detached berths for sea-going
vessels with floating pontoon landing stages between the steamer berths for the
accommodation of river craft and flats, as shown in drawing No. 2 accompanying
this note.
The procedure would then be as follows :
(1) Certain areas of land with a river frontage would be allotted to the
Supply and Transport, and Ordnance Departments, respectively.
(2) Sea-going vessels w'ould discharge at the sea-going berths and their
cargoes would be sorted and delivered to the department con
cerned.
(3) Goods for despatch up country would be shipped into the river steam
ers from the floating pontoon landing stages.
The objection to this scheme is that inward traffic from the sea-going vessels
would cross outward traffic to the river boats, but 1 do not see how this can be
avoided.
The plan* shews 5 berths for sea-going vessels and 4 berths for river steamers
and if more are required they can be erected
♦Plan No. 2. above the Baghdad Railway Wharf, where
there is an ample length of deep water frontage. I have allowed a space of 200
feet between the jetties of each berth and 641 feet between the berths themselves,
but these spaces can be altered if from the Marine point of view others are moie
suitable for steamer hatches, etc.
At the conclusion of military operations the floating landing stages could be
removed, the gaps between the sea-going wharves filled in and the whole wharf
extended one way into the river, the result being a fine wharf 2,800 feet long, with
a depth alongside of 30 feet below mean sea level.
{E) Construction of wharves.
The existing jetties at Magill, although admirable for a sudden emergency,
can only be classed as very temporary (see photos attached), and the new wharves
have been designed as cheaply as possible compatible with stability.
Whether they should be built of steel screw piles and steel bracing, or of
wooden piles and bracing, has received my serious consideration, and I have de
cided in favour of the latter method because it is cheaper, easier and quicker to
make in a country where skilled labour is scarce, and almost as durable as steel
in a river which is not affected by the marine motion.
I propose to do the work by degrees, one berth at a time, so that the existirg
temporary jetties would be kept in use until they were gradually supplanted by
the new ones.

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Content

This secret summary was compiled by the Army Department, War Section Case and printed in Simla in September 1919. It contains letters and telegrams sent from 11 December 1915 to 14 August 1916 between the officers of the Government of India and the Director-General of Port Administration and River Conservancy on the administration of the Port of Basrah [Basra].

The summary also contains 'Report of Major-General G F MacMunn's Committee on the Organization of the River Service in Mesopotamia' (folios 58-66), with recommendations for the Royal India Marine Services, on the method of employing existing and forthcoming vessels, and measures for the control of the shipping traffic on the Tigris and Euphrates rivers.

Extent and format
1 volume (66 folios)
Physical characteristics

The foliation sequence commences at the front cover, and terminates at the inside back cover; these numbers are written in pencil, are circled, and are located in the top right corner of the recto The front of a sheet of paper or leaf, often abbreviated to 'r'. side of each folio. The volume also contains an original printed pagination sequence.

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English in Latin script
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'Summary of correspondence relative to the administration of the Port of Basrah and measures for the control of the shipping traffic in Mesopotamia.' [‎31v] (62/134), British Library: India Office Records and Private Papers, IOR/L/MIL/17/15/131, in Qatar Digital Library <https://www.qdl.qa/archive/81055/vdc_100023544987.0x00003f> [accessed 29 March 2024]

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