‘File 12/5 Wrecks of sailing boats and vessels in the sea and salvages’
- Holding institution:
- British Library. India Office Records and Private Papers
- Data provider:
- Qatar National Library
- Title:
- ‘File 12/5 Wrecks of sailing boats and vessels in the sea and salvages’
- Contributor:
- Sopher and Company (correspondent)
Director of Customs and Port Officer (correspondent)
Native Agent, Trucial Coast, Sharjah (correspondent) - Date:
- 1929/1945
- Description:
- 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).1 file (282 folios)The file’s contents are arranged in approximate chronological order, from the earliest item at the front to the latest at the end. The file notes at the end of the file (ff 262-283) mirror the chronological arrangement.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.
- Language:
- English
Arabic
Persian - Type:
- Archival file
- Type (Narrower):
- Other Texts
- Type (Broader):
- Text
- Subject:
- Compensation
Marine accidents
Marine salvage
Shipwrecks
Repatriation - Extent:
- 1 file (282 folios)
- Rights:
- Unknown
Creative Commons Non-Commercial Licence
Public Domain
Open Government Licence - Identifier:
- 81055/vdc_100000000282.0x00006b_ar
81055/vdc_100000000282.0x00006b_en
IOR/R/15/2/1372 - Is part of:
- British Library: India Office Records and Private Papers