'File 4/6 II Kuwait-Iraq Frontier' [‎184r] (367/440)

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C_0_N_F_I_D_E_N T I A L
- Subject:- DEVELOPMENT OF THE PORT OF UMLi QASR.
The Commanding Officer, HMS. Wren at Basra.
The Senior British Naval Officer, Middle East.
Copies without enclosures to:-
The Commander-in-Chief, East Indies Station.
The Chief of Intelligence Staff, Middle East.
The Senior Naval Officer, Persian Gulf The historical term used to describe the body of water between the Arabian Peninsula and Iran. .
The Staff Officer (Intelligence) East Indies.
The Staff Officer (Intelligence) Persian Gulf The historical term used to describe the body of water between the Arabian Peninsula and Iran. .
The Staff Officer (Intelligence) Levant A geographical area corresponding to the region around the eastern Mediterranean Sea. and Eastern
Submitted a
The following brief summary of a conference on the develop
ment of the port of Umm Qasr held with the Director of Ports
and Navigation, Basrah, on Monday 18th October, 1948, is
forwarded as requested by the Senior British Naval Officer,
Middle East. 5
2. Background .
The capacity of the Shatt-al-Arab river is estimated at
about 170 ships a month, but this figure could be raised
temporarily to 200. At the present, Abadan accounts for 146 and
Basra 24 ships a month.
3• Recent Developments .
Oil has been found in quantity at A1 Zubair some 15 miles
from Basra.
The requirement has therefore arisen of getting this oil
away. Owing to the remarks in paragraph 2 above, it is not
possible for Basra or any other port in the Shatt-al-Arab river
to be used as the tanker loading point for Zubair.
A satisfactory alternative has suggested itself in UMM OaSR,
some two-thirds of the way up Khor Abdullah (Chart 1265).
4. Umm ^asr .
This port was started ifcn 1941. Surveys were carried out by
the Port Directorate, Basra, the channel was buoyed, and by the
end of the second Yforld War, a jetty had been built.
The jetty is now derelict, and all the navigational aids are
either missing or destroyed.
Therefore it is necessary to carry out another survey of
Khor Abdullah, and an aerial survey of the terrain between
Umm Qasr and Basra.
5. Territorial Boundaries .
The frontier between Iraq and the Sheikhdom of Kuwait lies
along a line up the middle of Khor Abdullah, and Khor Shetana
and then goes inland from a position 1 mile south of the site
of the present jetty.
The disadvantages are that it will not be possible to expand
the port Umm Qasr in its present site due to the close proximity
Mediterranean
Date: 19th October, 1948
NO. 2686/36
of the