'Reports on (1) the Conservancy of the Shatt-el-Arab river from the Port of Basra to the Persian Gulf and on (2) the Development of the Port of Basra. By Sir George Buchanan Kt., C.I.E' [‎12v] (28/62)

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created as a department of Government and comprising a Chairman appointed by
the Government, the Chief Collector of Customs, and two other officers of Govern
ment as ea^officio members, and three gentlemen nominated by Government selected
from the merchants, shipowrers and traders of the port.
(12) The port should be defined as extending from Gurmat Ali where the
Euphrates joins the Shatt-el-Arab (6 miles above Basra) to the lightship at the
mouth of the Shatt-el-Arab, and on both banks of the river for 150 feet beyond
high-water mark on ordinary spring tides.
The committee would have the executive control and administration of the
port and river, the appointment of officers and employees, and the control of
funds within certain limits ; but its acts would be subject to the general control
of Government. As the port grew and prospered the committee would be given
increased powers, until finally the creation of a port trust administering the port
under a port apt, would be indicated.
WORKS AND EQUIPMENT.
Requirements of a (13) The problem. o| port development necessitates, as a prehminary step,
modern port. ^ s |- uc ^ 0 f ac tual local conditions of the port for which it is intended, but there
are certain facilities and equipment that are essential for any first-class, port. These
primary requirements are :—
(i) Facility for prompt despatch of steamers.
( m ) Ample storage accommodation for goods.
The first of these is largely dependent on the. extent of the second.
The growth in the size of ships has been very great in the last 50 years, and the
necessity for adequate port accommodation has increased proportionately. The
greater the size of vessels, the more economically can they be run, owing to the fact
that the consumption of fuel is pro rata less and the voyages, required fewer ; and
it has been shewn that if the draught be increased proportionately to increase in
other dimensions, the cargo can be carried at a steadily decreasing cost as size
increases.
In days gone by when ships were comparatively inexpensive, they were built
to suit the ports which were comparatively costly. The situation is now reversed,
and if the authorities at a port wish to secure or even hold trade, they must be
prepared to march with the times and adapt their ports to the ships ; and the ports
that are most efficient are those that have kept their facilities ahead of actual
requirements.
(14) What "constitutes adequate facilities for the prompt despatch of steamers
and storage of goods, is a question that every port must answer for itself, but for
a river port it generally resolves itself into the following :—
(1) A deep, well buoyed, and lighted channel extending from the sea to
the entrance to the docks or wharves.
(2) Sufficient deep-water wharf accommodation either inside the docks
or alongside the river front.
(3) An abundance of cranes and ample shed and warehouse room.
(4) Railway connexions and, where there is inland navigation, facilities for
transhipment to the river steamers when and where required.
The rate of discharge from the ship is controlled by the ability to give clearance
qp. sjiore, and the capacity of ships, has now become so great, that the accommodation.
Definition of
Port, and power
of Committee,
Adequate
facilities.