"العراق والخليج الفارسي" [و‎‎٣‎٢‎٩] (٨٦٢/٦٦٠)

PORTS AND INLAND TOWNS 511
with Great Britain, U.S.A., India, Japan, and the Dutch East Indies,
in that order, up to 1940.
Local industries, apart from the engineering works attached to the
port and railway, are confined to the ancillary crafts necessary for
urban life; blacksmiths, metal-workers, boat-builders, carpenters,
masons, and bricklayers are numerous, though their standards are
low. There are numerous bakeries, four principal ice factories pro
ducing 27 tons a day, and at least 16 small soda-water factories apart
from the port and R.A.F. plants.
Port of Basra
The Port of Basra Authority extends along the Shatt al Arab for
90 miles from its mouth as far as Nahr Umr, 20 miles above Maqil,
its chief centre. Maqil can be approached by any ship capable of
using the dredged channels up the Shatt al Arab: the present limits
(1943) are a draught of 30 feet and a length of 600 feet, but for the
best working results the draught should not exceed 25 feet and the
length should be between 400 and 500 feet. The main wharves have
25 feet of water alongside at low water. There are ten berths for
vessels drawing between 23 and 26 feet, and numerous moorings in
mid-stream. There is a subsidiary lighter basin opposite Ashar at
Tanuma.
Shipping and Commerce
The port is used by ocean steamers, sea-going native sailing-craft,
and inland-water craft. The number of steamers which entered the
Shatt al Arab in 1938/9 was 1,220, but the majority were oil tankers
loading at Abadan: only 272 docked in the actual port of Basra, and
948 entered Abadan and Khorramshahr (Persia). In 1938/9, 6,630
sea-going native craft entered the Shatt al Arab, of which 2,568
were bound for Iraq and 4,062 for Persia.
The imports through the port of Basra for 1938/9 totalled 354,467
tons, of which 21,708 tons were carried by sea-going native craft.
The exports for the same year were 455,002 tons, of which 58,967
tons were carried by sea-going native craft. The principal exports
are grain and dates; wool, hides, liquorice-root, and cotton are
subsidiary. Imports include building materials, timber, cement,
machinery, piece goods, tea, and sugar.
Basra is also an important port for passengers, including tourists
and pilgrims. In 1938, 10,524 passengers disembarked and 8,946
sailed.