IOR/R/15/1/157, ff 129-132

The letter and its enclosures relate to an act of piracy committed off the coast of Ra’s al Ḥadd in Oman, in which the vessel El Hamra was plundered and several of her crew murdered. Anderson requests that Jones institute enquiries into the incident, which occured in the Imam of Muscat’s territories. The enclosures following the letter are:

1. A copy of letter no.158 of 1855 from Brigadier William Coghlan, Acting Political Resident and Commandant at Aden, to Anderson, dated 13 December 1855, reporting the incident of piracy;

2. A copy of the Appearance and Deposition of Mahomed bin Hassan (folios 131-32), dated 12 December 1855, a sailor on board the El Hamra, describing the shipwreck of the vessel, its attack by Bedouins, murder, enslavement, and nine-day walk to seek help. Mahomed bin Hassan states that the El Hamra had thirteen crew and 250 Hindustani pilgrims as passengers, of which a total of twenty people reached Soor [Sur].