"العراق والخليج الفارسي" [و‎‎٣‎٣‎١] (٨٦٢/٦٦٤)

PORTS AND INLAND TOWNS
5*5
Oil, Coal, and Water-supplies. Ocean-going vessels normally refuel
at Abadan, where unlimited supplies of oil are available. Small craft,
including port craft, inland water craft, and lighters, can lie along
side the Rafidain Oil Company’s jetties at Muftiya, where 400,000
gallons of oil are normally stored.
Coal is not ordinarily available for bunkers, as small stocks only
are maintained for local requirements, but there are handling facilities.
Water from the port filtration plant at Jubaila is available in ample
supply for shipping, from standards on the wharves or from water
barges. Boiler water can be taken direct from the river. The R.A.F.
area has its own filtration plant, chlorination plant, and pumping
station, which also supplies the R.A.F. station at Shuaiba by an
underground pipe-line. The R.A.F. also owns a large filtration barge.
Capacity. The daily capacity of the port was estimated in 1941 at
1,800 tons, and the potential daily capacity at 3,600 to 5,400 tons.
Communications
Sea. The British India Steam Navigation Company maintains a
weekly fast mail service to Bombay via Bushire and Karachi, and also
a weekly slow mail service to Bombay calling at the Persian Gulf ports.
In 1939 regular direct cargo services were maintained to Europe
by the Strick, Ellerman, Hansa, and Lloyd Triestino Lines, and
to the Far East by the Nippon Yusen Kaisha and the Peninsular and
Oriental Steam Navigation Company.
River. River steamers and barges ply regularly on the Tigris to
Baghdad, and small native sailing-craft trade on the lower Tigris
and Euphrates (pp. 559-61). Inland water craft mainly use Viceroy’s
Pier at the entrance to Ashar creek.
Ferry. A ferry service across the Shatt al Arab was inaugurated in
1941 between Ashar and Tanuma.
Road. The principal connecting roads in the port area are metalled.
A macadamized road runs from the wharves via the R.A.F. area
through Makina to Ashar, and thence inland to Basra City. There
are roads [1], [2] to Baghdad by both the Tigris and Euphrates
routes.
Rail. The main wharves are equipped with railway sidings connect
ing with the metre-gauge lines to Baghdad, Basra City, Zubair, and
Umm Qasr. A standard-gauge line (p. 609) has recently been built
from Tanuma to the Iranian railway at Hosseinieh; it is connected
by metre-gauge line over the Shatt al Arab by the new Hull bridge
with Coal Island and Maqil (p. 5 ^^)-