File 50/1914 Pt 1 'Persian Gulf: Lighting & Buoying; General Arrangements' [‎58r] (120/396)

'
From becretary of State to Viceroy, Foreign Department,
14t/i May 1912.
Foreign Secret. Trinity House letter of 25tli April, sent by mail of
26th April. Lighthouse depot. Do you agree to letter being communicated
to Anglo-Persian Oil Company with inquiry whether they can comply with
requirements as therein set out. Have you any other observations ?
Trinity House to Indja Office.
No. B. 1220. Trinity House, London, E.C.,
Sir, 25th April 1912.
With reference to previous correspondence (P. 1149, &c.) on the subject
of the lighting scheme for the Persian Gulf The historical term used to describe the body of water between the Arabian Peninsula and Iran. , and to the Conference held at the
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. on the 3rd instant, which was' attended by Captain
H. Acton Blake, Deputy Master of this Corporation, and Mr. D. W. Hood, of
the engineering staff at this House, I am now directed to submit for the
consideration of the Secretary of State for India the following observations
in regard to the proposed lighthouse depot at Abadan on the River
Euphrates in the Persian Gulf The historical term used to describe the body of water between the Arabian Peninsula and Iran. .
It was ascertained from Mr. Greenway, a Director of the Anglo-Persian
Oil Company, who was present at the Conference above-mentioned, that the
Anglo-Persian Oil Company, on whose property at Abadan it is proposed to
establish the lighthouse depot, took over their concession two years ago.
The property is situated on the left bank of the Euphrates, about 40 miles
from the outer buoy at the Shatt-al-Arab, and about 12 miles below
Muhammera, and extends to one square mile, nearly all of which has been
fenced in. Extensive oil tanks, refineries, workshops, power houses, &c.,
have already been established, and more are in contemplation.
It is understood that every facility will be offered by the Company
to the Government of India for leasing the required area of land
for the establishment of a lighthouse depot, and it was proposed by
Mr. Greenway that the two acres suggested by the Elder Brethren as
necessary for the purpose could be acquired for a term of fifty years (the
duration of the Company’s lease of the property) for a small, or even
nominal rental. In the letter from the trinity House to the 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.
dated 26th March 1912 (Ex. 874), it was suggested that an area of two acres
would probably be necessary for the accommodation of the depot, the
establishment of which would involve considerable expendituie, as it vas
understood that nothing whatever was available for adaptation to lighthouse
purposes, but it now appears that this is not the case.
As already stated, extensive workshops, largely staffed by Emopean
mechanics and fitted with modern tools, have been established, and it has
been suggested that an agreement might possibly be arrived at between the
Government of India and the Company, whereby all repairs necessary for the
working parts of lighthouses, light vessels, and gas buoys, would be executed
by the Company’s engineering staff, thus rendering the establishment and
equipment of lighthouse workshops unnecessary.
It was also assumed that a considerable area would be required, and
expense incurred, in providing for the storage of steam coal for the tender.
This can, however, be obviated, as already suggested by the Elder Brethren,
by the whole or partial use of oil fuel, which can be supplied on the spot;
but as the depot will be within a few miles of Muhammera, where a coaling
station exists, no provision need be made for extensive coal storage at the
depot.
S. 153.