Directory_and_Chronicle_1924 — Page 1465

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NETHERLANDS-INDIA

tons capacity, respectively, with a view to which the depth here is to be increased. There is available 2,560 metres of wharf for ships of 9 metres draught and 370 metres of quay along the lengthened bank of the Kali Mas projecting into the sea for small ocean- going steamers and vessels of lesser draught, while on the south side of the basin, which is about 1,050 metres long, there is 300 metres of quay-wall for the use of lighters. The harbour equipment includes two floating steam-cranes with a lifting capacity of 25 and 50 tons, respectively, and on the quay there are electric cranes of from one to ten tons each. A new pier-the Holland pier-is projected inside the harbour basin parallel with the coal wharf. It will be capable of berthing ships with a draught of up to 10 metres. Further extensions are contemplated.

Tjilatjap. Tjilatjap, the only harbour of importance on the south coast of Java, is situated on a tongue of land, bounded on the east by the Indian Ocean and on the west by the river Donan, in the estuary of which there is sufficient depth of water (8 metres at low tide) for large steamers. Owing to the protection provided by the island of Noesa Kembangan, lying off the coast here, this estuary offers a safe anchorage, where the breakers of the Indian Ocean are not felt. There is 520 metres of pier, and ships drawing 8 metres are able to berth alongside the northern part of the pier even at low tide. Preparations are being made for further extensions, but the building of a quay 400 metres long has been postponed in the interests of economy.

Island of Sumatra

Padang. Since the opening of the Government Railway line to the Padang up-country in about the year 1885, Emmahaven has become the chief port of Padang. This harbour is situated in the northern portion of Koninginne Bay, which is formed by the tongues of land projecting into the sea in a south-westerly direction. At right angles to a coral bank, which is exposed at ebbtide and on which a small wharf has been constructed, is a breakwater, 260 metres long, lying approximately parallel with the shore, while the harbour on the other side is enclosed by a breakwater, 900 metres long. These two breakwaters and the shore form a basin, within which are the harbour works proper.

These were constructed at a cost of more than Fls. 3,300,000. In 1893 attention was already drawn to the fact that the room available at the loading and the discharging wharves was no longer adequate for the increasing shipping traffic. In order to obtain further berthing accommodation for sailing vessels, two short piers were built, besides a small pier for discharging dynamite. These piers project from the long breakwater. The lack of sufficient space for ocean vessels of greater draught led in 1911 to an exten- sion and improvement of the harbour. The depth of water within the harbour was increased to 9 metres at low tide, while the three existing screw-pile wharves have been lengthened and are now able to berth four big steamers. Six large sheds have been built behind the jetties. The most important export consists of Ombilin coals. The colliers moor at a special jetty, where a coaling-tip fills them at the rate of 300 tons an hour.

Belawan (Deli).—Belawan, the most important harbour of North-East Sumatra-the land of Sumatra tobacco and rubber is situated on the Island of Belawan, which has formed at the estuary of the Deli and Belawan Rivers. The harbour, originally con- structed by the Deli Railway Company, lies on the west side of the island, where the depth of the Belawan River is more than 7 metres. In the front of the mouth of this river an extended bank has formed, in which there is a channel with originally a depth of little more than 13 feet at high water; this circumstance was the reason that hitherto only smaller vessels have been able to make use of the harbour. For the convenience of commerce there are at Belawan several landing stages and a harbour for lighters having a water area of 2.75 hectares. With the large increase in the volume of traffic the need arose for more loading, discharging and storage space. In order to supply this need as much as possible, the Government, in 1913, took over the harbour works of the Deli Railway Company, thus facilitating the improvement of existing conditions, and further constructed a number of temporary and permanent godowns. At the present time the wharves have a total length of above 1,000 metres, 700 metres of which belong to the Government and 300 metres to private owners. Preparations for further extensions are being made. Inter alia, it has been decided to try to deepen the channel at the mouth of the Belawan river sufficiently to render it navigable by ocean steamers. depth has already been increased by dredging to upwards of 7 metres at low tide. In this connection the building of a wharf of about 950 metres length, for vessels with

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