IOR/R/15/2/1377

The file comprises correspondence relating to the shipment and transhipment of cargo from India (chiefly Karachi but also Veraval) to the ports of the Persian Gulf, principally Dubai, Sharjah, Qatar (often spelt Quattar) and Bahrain. The file is a direct chronological continuation of ‘File 12/7 II Arrival of country craft from India’ (IOR/R/15/2/1376) The file’s principal correspondents are: the Collector of Customs at Karachi; staff at the Political Agency in Bahrain; the Residency Agent at Sharjah; the Political Officer on the Trucial Coast; the Director of Customs at Bahrain (George William Reginald Smith).

The correspondence relates to routine enquiries made concerning cargo on specific vessels travelling from Karachi (and Veraval) to the ports of the Persian Gulf, and involves the exchange of export manifests detailing goods landed at different ports. The enquiries begin with letters from the Collector of Customs at Karachi (or Veraval) informing the Political Agent at Bahrain of named vessels travelling to ports in the Persian Gulf, with extracts of their export manifest, and requesting confirmation of their arrival and the verification of the landing of their cargo. These letters are followed by enquiries made by the Political Agent (enclosing export manifests) to the Director of Customs at Bahrain (for vessels travelling to Bahrain), the Residency Agent at Sharjah (for vessels travelling to the ports of the Trucial Coast), and the Ruler of Qatar (for vessels travelling to Qatar), requesting verification of the export manifests. Replies from the Director of Customs at Bahrain, the Residency Agent at Sharjah (in English and Arabic) and the Ruler of Qatar, confirm if vessels have arrived in port or not. Further correspondence includes letters from the Political Agent at Bahrain to the Collector of Customs at Karachi (or Veraval) confirming the arrival (and sometimes non-arrival) of named vessels, enclosing verified (or unverified) export manifests.