‘WAR DIARY. ARMY HEADQUARTERS, INDIA. […] I.E.F. “D”. Volume 41. PART I. (From 1st to 31st December 1917).’ [‎235r] (474/556)

case with 656 tons space and in the other case 2,123 tons space and this space
is lost space owing to the bad assortment of cargo.
Ships loaded with light cargoes.—’Wit}! the exception of the coal laden
ships practically allships arriye in Basrah flying light, the reason for this is
that with the exception of coal and rails nearly all the cargoes are composed
ot extremely light commodities the biggest items being firewood, hay and
bhoosa and these measure, it is estimated, from four to five times more than
tliey weigh. All the ships anived short by very large amounts of their weight
carrying capacity, and this shortage of weight carrying capacity is lost capacity
owing to the assortment of cargo carried. 1 ^
r Efficient loading of steamers. —In the case of Bombay steamers but very
little suitable assortment of cargo exists or at any rate has existed during the
past tew months so that there seems to be no alternative but to carry the
cargo as it offers in spite of the resulting bad carrying of the steamers,
. But as regards Karachi, the case is different, there they have in the
region of 20,COO tons coal per month (in the case of the October shipments
the quantity is 22,000 tons) which is of course heavy cargo measurino- approxi
mately 42 cubic feet to the ton of 20 cwt. and in addition there is a very large
quantity of light cargo, such as, firewood, hay and hhoosa which measures
between 180 to 200 cubic feet to the ton of 20 cwt. or practically measuring
nearly five times more than it weighs. 3
To demonstrate the use that could have been made (but which was not)
of this combination of heavy and light cargo I give the following particulars of
how much extra tonnage might have been carried by the eight Karachi lio-ht
cargo steamers from which I received returns during my stay in Basrah, viz*—
—
If she had shut out
tons of 20 cwt.
She could have carried
tons of 20 cwt.
Gain in tons of
20 cwt.
“ City of Sparta ” .
•
•
500 hay
2,000 coal .
1,500
“ Houroto ” .
•
•
200 firewood
CO
o
o
• 600
“Muttra”
•
•
350
1,350 „ .
1,000
—
If she had shut out
tons of 20 cwt.
She could have carried
tons of 20 cwt.
Gain in tons of
20 cwt.
“Kepong” . . . .
300 bhoosa
1,300 coal .
o
o
o
r— (
(i Haiyang ” .
250 firewood
1,000 „ .
750
“ Urlana ” .
o
o
2,000 „ .
1,500
“ Hamuning ”
250 „
1,000 „ .
750
“ Haiching ”
200 bhoosa
300 . .
600
2,550 tons
10,250 tons .
7,700 tons.
or an average gain per steamer of 962 tons of 20 cwt.
.. aB J ve must however be taken as only approximate, for they are. corn
er m Al ? m o^ ven by the Masters and are based in the displacement scale
o ie steamers after making deductions for bunker coal, ballast and stores.
a cu ations from displacement are liable to errors some times one way and at
othei times the other way but on the balance probably near mark.
The steamers in question actually carried 7,938 tons of light cargo but if
v ± '° nS ^ ess , car g 0 bad been shipped they would have carried 5,388 tons
ight caigo and could have carried 10,250 tons coal or equivalent to approxi
mately half month’s supply of coal and firewood and if half a month’s supplies
or these commodities were carried by eight steamers then a full month’s supply
would be carried oy sixteen steamers and the saving per month by assorting the
cargo w r ould be 15.400 tons of 20 cwt. equal to about 25 per cent, of the entire
shipments from Karachi (66,200 tons).
The Director of the Boyal Indian Marine has taken exception to carrying
hay and bhoosa on the top of coal on account of the risk of the coal firing.
However this does not matter as things stand, for there is only about sufficient
coal going forward to about balance the quantity of firewood being shipped.