IOR/L/PS/12/3789

The file concerns the introduction of a 'subsidised' shipping service into the Persian Gulf by the Italian shipping company Lloyd Triestino. The Foreign Office viewed the development with concern, at a time of increasing international interest in the Persian Gulf.

The papers cover: summary of foreign shipping services in the Gulf (folio 49); itinerary of the new service (folio 40); the view of the Political Resident in the Persian Gulf that the new service was not likely to affect British shipping (folio 37); official concern over a decrease in the predominance of British shipping and British goods in the Gulf (folios 32-33, 29); the presence of Japanese and German shipping in the Gulf; inauguration of the Lloyd Triestino service; the connection of the new service with the Trans-Persian Railway (e.g. folios 25, 9); the reaction of the British India Steam Navigation Company (BISN) to the new service (e.g. folios 23, 17); and reports on the movements of Italian ships and the cargoes they were carrying, especially sugar and cement.

The file contains correspondence from the Foreign Office, the Board of Trade, and various British officials in the region.

The file includes a divider, which gives a list of correspondence references contained in the file by year. This is placed at the back of the correspondence.