'Lighting and Buoying of the Persian Gulf, 1908-1928' [‎49v] (2/6)

1\ 1H0/15.
P. 2830/16.
P. 2240/14.
Tel. to Teheran,
June 41 1014.
P. 2300/14.
had been used as tender in the meantime.) The personnel for tending the
lights was recruited in India. A convenient source of oil supply was at
hand in the Anglo-Persian Oil Company.
0 The only parts of the programme not completed were (a) the Sheikh
Shuaib light, \b) the lighthouse depot. These are dealt with below.
Notifications of the various aids to navigation were given from time to time
to mariners and in some cases to foreign Consular representatives. In
ju n e 1914 the Political Resident A senior ranking political representative (equivalent to a Consul General) from the diplomatic corps of the Government of India or one of its subordinate provincial governments, in charge of a Political Residency. was instructed to issue a complete
notification of all changes and improvements to the Local Government at
Bushire and the Customs authorities, and to keep both them and the
Consular representatives informed of future developments.
Tel. from Viceroy,
July 28 1914,
P. 2986/14.
Letter from Pol
Res. to G. of !.,
Mar. 25 1913,
P. 1966/13.
P.279/14.
Tel. to Viceroy,
Dec. 15 1914. '
P. 4600/14.
P. 5056/17.
D.O. letter from
A-dlty. Sept. 28 1928.
Tel. from Viceroy,
Oct. 9 1917,
P. 4014/17, 4346/17.
P. 282/27.
F.O. to I.O., April 29
1924, P. 1498/24.
Desp. 51 from G. of
1., P. 3761/17.
Memo, from I.O.,
P. 4603.
Tel. from Viceroy,
Aug. 13 1921,
P. 3698/21.
II.—1914-25. Expansion.
7. Certain extensions of the original programme were also carried out.
Masthead lights on the Henjam and Ohahbar telegraph stations, like those
already in existence at Jask, were exhibited in 1914.
8. In 1913-4 the Political Resident A senior ranking political representative (equivalent to a Consul General) from the diplomatic corps of the Government of India or one of its subordinate provincial governments, in charge of a Political Residency. proposed a general overhaul of
beacons. The following beacons were to be maintained:—Koweit (Ras-al-
Arz), Bushire (Ras-al-Marg), Jask, Henjam and Basidu. New beacons were
to be built at Kubbar (near Koweit), Khor Kaliya (near Bahrein) and Halul.
That at Halul was to be erected not so much to aid navigation as to establish
a foothold against Turkish and German designs; the ownership of the
island being, as will be seen from the memorandum on page ||, undecided,
though there are some grounds for considering it under Abu Dhabi. All
the proposals were sanctioned by the early part of 1914.
9. Later in the same year the question arose of the ownership of certain
islands off the coast between Koweit and Bahrein, and, mainly for political
reasons, beacons which might help, if necessary, to establish a claim to
ownership were sanctioned, and set up in 1915, on the islands of harsi,
Arabi and Harkus.
10. The beacon at Henjam (Ras-al-Mashia) was restored in 1917, and a
light placed on it. That at Halul was removed from charts, &c., on a
report from R.I.M.S. Neai'chus in 1923.
11. In 1917 the Government of India represented that lighthouses at
Muscat, Henjam and Sheikh Shuaib were “an urgent necessity.” Alight
for Muscat was immediately sanctioned and erected ; it was removed to
another position in 1926. A temporary lighthouse was erected at Henjam
(Ras-al-Mashia) in 1920, and another at Jask. The Sheikh Shuaib project
again failed to mature (see IV (d)), but a temporary lightship was established,
as a substitute, off Kais Island in 1918, and was replaced by a semi
permanent vessel in 1923.
12. Shatt-el-Arab. —In 1916-7 a general reorganisation of the buoying
of the river entrance was carried out for war purposes. The channel was
marked by three gas buoys and eight unlit buoys. Shortly after the war,
however, the lighting and buoying of the Shatt-el-Arab was taken over by
the Basra Port Directorate and ceased to be the concern of the Government
of India.
13. Lighthouse Depot. —The original scheme of reconstruction provided
for a depot at Koweit, but Abadan island was found to be more suitable.
The Anglo-Persian Oil Company were willing in 1912 to lease an area, but
no progress was made before the war. During the war the Company s
trade expanded, and the offer of the area selected for a depot was withdrawn ;
the lighting service w r as, however, allowed to remain at Abadan temporarily.
In 1921 the Government of India proposed to unite with the Basra Port
authorities in a joint depot at Fao. This was sanctioned in 1922.
F.O. to I.O., May 2
1924, 1’. 1995/24.
14. In 1923 the lighthouse tender Nearchus was declared unfit for
service, and her sale was authorised in 1924. She was replaced by the new
R.I.M.S. Lawrence, w’hich combined the duties of despatch vessel and tender.