Abstract: This item consists of copies of correspondence, minutes, and consultations, cited in, or enclosed with, political letters from the Government of Bombay [Mumbai]. It is the second in a series of three items about the Persian Gulf (the others are IOR/F/4/1929/82843 and IOR/F/4/1929/82845). The correspondents are: the Government of Bombay; Captain Samuel Hennell, Resident in the Persian Gulf; Captain George Barnes Brucks, Commander of the Indian Navy in the Persian Gulf; Lieutenant John Stephens, Commander of the East India Company Schooner
Emily; Thomas MacKenzie, Acting Assistant Resident in the Persian Gulf.The item concerns the salvage of the Bugla [Baghla]
Futchool Khya[
Fateh ul Khyr], which ran aground on Kishm [Qeshm], and its cargo, by the East India Company Schooner
Emily. The Bugla and cargo were taken to Karrack [Jazīreh-ye Khārk] and a list of the cargo auctioned is present on folio 391.The item includes a contents page and the title page of the item contains the following references: ‘Collection No. 13 of No. 50, Draft 31, P.C. [Previous Communication] 3302, [Season] 1842’ and ‘Examiner’s Office’.Physical description: Foliation: the foliation sequence (used for referencing) commences at the first folio with f 370 and terminates at f 392, as it is part of a larger physical volume; these numbers are written in pencil, are circled, and are located in the bottom right corner of the recto side of each folio.Pagination: the item also contains an original pagination sequence.
Abstract: The file contains correspondence, statements made by nakhudas, bills and receipts, all related to incidents in which native vessels were wrecked or damaged in the Persian Gulf (and chiefly in the waters around Bahrain) usually as a result either of storms or collision with another vessel. The correspondence relates to: reports of the initial incidents; the salvage of cargo; rescue and repatriation of crews; the recovery of costs incurred by salvage and repatriation; insurance claims. The principal correspondents in the file are: the Political Agent at Bahrain (numerous incumbents); the Director of Customs at Bahrain (Claud Cranbrook Lewis deGrenier); the Residency Agent at Sharjah, who reports on shipwreck and salvage incidents on the Trucial Coast, or involving boats from the Trucial Coast.The file includes details of numerous individual cases. The most significant cases in terms of paperwork involved include:the sinking of the
Surabnear Bushire in February 1931, with correspondence relating to: the repatriation of the crew back to Karachi; the Karachi authorities’ demands for repatriation costs to be paid by the
Surab’sowner, leading to a dispute between the two parties (ff 8-30);a collision between the British India Steam Navigation Company steamer, the
Varsova, and a fishing dhow in the waters between Qatar and Bahrain, with correspondence relating to: the recovery of eighteen crew from the dhow, which sank after the collision; failed attempts by the dhow’s owner, a Qatari subject, to make a claim in Bahrain over the loss; the Ruler of Qatar, Shaikh ‘Abdullāh bin Jāsim Āl Thānī’s intervention in the affair (ff 95-124);the foundering of a vessel, the
Fatehkarim,off the Jazirat Shaikh Shuib in February 1941, and the repatriation to Karachi of its eight crew, with correspondence including copies of indemnity bonds for the eight crew members, to cover their passage back to Karachi (ff 181-198);in June 1943, attempts to repatriate twelve men from Um al Qaiwain [Umm al-Qaywayn] from Colombo, where their vessel was shipwrecked, with correspondence relating to the costs and difficulties of repatriating the men, presumably a result of wartime restrictions in maritime traffic (ff 219-229);enquiries, from September 1944 onwards, by a Bombay [Mumbai] company, Sopher & Company, who are attempting to make an insurance claim for a vessel lost near Khor Fakkan [Khawr Fakkān], while en route from Bombay to Basrah [Basra], with correspondence including copies of notes of protest, issued by the Government of Iraq (ff 241-261).Physical description: Foliation: the main foliation sequence (used for referencing) commences at the front cover with 1, and terminates at the inside back cover with 283; these numbers are written in pencil, are circled, and are located in the top right corner of the recto side of each folio. An additional foliation sequence is present in parallel between ff 7-261; these numbers are also written in pencil, but are not circled, and are located in the same position as the main sequence. A previous foliation sequence, which is also circled, has been superseded and therefore crossed out.
Abstract: The file comprises telegrams, despatches, correspondence, memoranda, and notes, relating to a the sinking of SS
Dahpuin Muscat harbour.Issues discussed include:Claims for compensationThe effect of the wreck of the
Dahpuon anchorage in Muscat harbourAttempt at salvage of the wreck of SS
DahpuThe sinking of the wreck to remove any hazard to shipping.The principal correspondents in the file are: the Political Agent, Muscat; the Political Resident in the Persian Gulf; Commander in Chief, East Indies Station; Secretary to the Government of India, External Affairs Department; the Naval Intelligence Centre, Colombo; the Senior Naval Officer in the Persian Gulf; and the Sultan of Muscat (Sa‘īd bin Taymūr).Physical description: Foliation: the foliation sequence (used for referencing) commences at the front cover with 1, and terminates at the inside back cover with 90; these numbers are written in pencil, are circled, and are located in the top right corner of the recto side of each folio.
Abstract: The file contains correspondence sent during 1837 to Captain Samuel Hennell, the Officiating Resident in the Persian Gulf. It primarily concerns the operations of the Indian Navy in the Persian Gulf; the movement of ships, the transfer of officers, and the payment of allowances. Major topics covered include reports on the suitability of Bussora [Basra], and Mahamerah [Khorramshahr] as sites for coal depots; and an experiment to measure the consumption rate of two types of wood — as fuel — by the steamer
Hugh Lindsay.The Euprhates Expedition is also a significant topic in the file; this concerns instructions related to moving the steamer
Euphratesto either Mahamerah, or Muscat so that it may be towed back to Bombay by the
Hugh Lindsay. The expedition is also attempting to raise the steamer
Tigris, which sank in the Euphrates river.Intermixed with the correspondence is a list of books left with Captain Hennell at Bushire, a list of instruments at Bushire, a list of stores aboard the
Euphrates, and a receipt for 2500 German crowns from Syed bin Selim, Vikeel of Aboothabee [Sa‘īd bin Salīm, Wakīl of Abu Dhabi]. The latter being the result of claims made by the British Government against the Daria Dowlat for acts of piracy.Reports concerning the political affairs of Bahrain, the Arabian Coast, and the movements Arab tribes are also included. However, these topics are not heavily represented in this file.The principle correspondents are John Pepper, Commander of the Indian Naval Squadron in the Persian Gulf; and Sir Charles Malcolm, Superintendent of the Indian Navy.The file also includes letters from the following: Francis Rawdon Chesney, Commander of the Euphrates Expedition; James Bucknall Bucknall-Estcourt, Third in Command of the Euphrates Expedition; John Croft Hawkins, Commander of the
Clive; Alexander Hector at Baghdad; William Igglesden, Commander of the
Tigris; Henry Nelson Poole, in Charge of the
Clive; John Sawyer, Commander of the
Amhurst[
Amherst]; Charles Sharpe, Commander of the
Elphinstone; Robert Taylor, Political Agent in Turkish Arabia; Joseph H Rowband, Commander of the
Hugh Lindsay; Alfred S Williams, Assistant Superintendent of the Indian Navy; and Edward M Wood, Secretary to the Bombay Government.Physical description: Foliation: The foliation sequence commences at the cover and terminates at the last folio; these numbers are written in pencil, are circled, and can be found in the top right corner of the recto side of each folio.Pagination: An original incomplete pagination sequence in ink is also present in the volume between ff. 2-45. There are a number of gaps in this sequence.
Abstract: Copies of a General Despatch from the Government of India Foreign Department to the Secretary of State for India, dated 2 June 1873 and received by the India Office Political and Secret Department 30 June 1873.In continuation of Despatch No. 15, dated 8 May 1873, this despatch forwards a copy of correspondence on the subject of salvage demands made by the Persian [Iranian] local authorities at Bushire [Būshehr] on account of goods landed from the ship
Mesopotamia, and suggests that this case be borne in mind in the event of negotiations taking place for a new commercial treaty with Persia [Iran]. The despatch also acknowledges receipt of Despatch No. 36 of 14 March 1873 and No. 42 of 28 March 1873.Physical description: Foliation: the foliation sequence for this description (used for referencing) commences at f 417, and terminates at f 434a, as it is part of a larger physical volume; these numbers are written in pencil, are circled, and are located in the top right corner of the recto side of each folio. The sequence contains four foliation anomalies: f 417a, f 425a, f 426a, and f 434a.
Abstract: This item consists of copies of enclosures to a General Despatch from the Government of India Foreign Department to the Secretary of State for India, dated 24 April 1874, regarding the claim put forward by the Governor of Bushire [Būshehr] for one-third of the cargo of the British Steamer
Mesopotamiaas salvage.Physical description: Foliation: the foliation sequence (used for referencing) commences at the first folio with f 3 and terminates at f 4, as it is part of a larger physical volume; these numbers are written in pencil, are circled, and are located in the top right corner of the recto side of each folio.
Abstract: The volume contains correspondence, memoranda, notes, and minutes relating to the looting of the SS
Kualaby inhabitants of Socotra following its grounding off the coast of the island in November 1911. Some of the correspondence is included as enclosures, sometimes in the form of printed collections relating to a particular matter. The volume includes handwritten drafts. The majority of the correspondence is between the Imperial Merchant Service Guild, India Office, Foreign Department of the Government of India, Government of Bombay, Salvage Association, Port Authorities at Bombay, and the Political Residency at Aden.The papers cover several matters, including:the initial report of the incident, by Robert McKinnon, Chief Officer aboard the SS
Kuala(folios 109-113);the request by the Imperial Merchant Service Guild for action by the India Office;the condition of the vessel;the whereabouts of the remaining crew members and their rescue by Austrian Steam Navigation Company vessel SS
Trieste;the question of compensation;a proposal for a general survey of the island.At the rear of the volume is correspondence from 12 October 1897-13 January 1898 concerning a similar case involving SS
Adenwhich was used to inform the discussion over that of SS
Kuala.Physical description: The foliation sequence commences at the inside front cover with 1 and terminates at the inside back cover with 42; these numbers are written in pencil, are circled, and are located in the top right corner of the recto side of each folio.