Page 74 - Historical Summaries (Persian Gulf) 1907-1953

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disturbances at Lingali and Bunder Abbas, and
British naval action has been taken against
pirates at Dayir on the Persian coast.
The most striking featuro of the Persian coast
is the abscncoof good harbours. Bushire, Lingah
and Bunder Abbas arc merely open roadsteads,
where a landing can sometimes bo effected only
with difficulty, and for days it may be impossible
to work cargo. At Bushire cargo can indeed bo
brought alongside the customs-house in almost
any weather, provided the lighters can approach
the steamers, which remain at over 2 miles from
the shore. The position could be immeasurably
improved by dredging. At Bunder Abbas a good
harbour could be constructed by utilizing the
deep water of the Clarence Straits, which separate
the Island of Kishm from the mainland.
The importance of Bunder Abbas, with the Position at Bunder Abbas, fto.
adjacent Islands of Kishm, Ilenjam, and Hormuz,
as a naval station, was the subject of much official
correspondence between 1900 and 1906, and was
emphasized by an Inter-Departmental Committee
which met in October 1907.
A point of the Persian coast which calls for Admiralty,
August 7, 1908.
special mention on account of its suitability as a
terminus for the Bagdad Bailway is Khor Musa,
near the Shat-el-Arab. This Khor was surveyed
by two British naval officers in 1903.
Turning now to the subject of trade routes and
the development of railway communication, the
ports which command caravan routes are Bunder
Abbas, Bushire, and Moharamerah, while
Bussorah, in Turkish territory, is a principal
artery for trado in transit to Persia vift Bagdad
and Kermanshah.
The Bunder Abbas roads to Kerman and Yezd
arc very insecure on account of brigands, and the
road from Bushire to Shiraz is arduous and
difficult. The transport rates are subject to great
fluctuation; but, striking an average, Mr. 'Whig-
ham, in his book “ The Persian Problem," points
out that whereas it costa 30*. a ton to carry
goods from London to Bushire, the transport
thence to Shiraz (183 miles) costs 87*., and the
charge from Bushire to Ispahan may be csti
mated at 101.
The Ahwaz-Ispahan road, constructed for the
Bakhtiari Khans by Messrs. Lynch, has brought
Ispahan within much closer proximity to the
sea, and, in point of distance, is a great improve­
ment on the Bushire-Shiraz- Ispahan route.