Durham E-Theses Seaports and development in the Persian gulf Walker, Antony Raymond How to cite: Walker, Antony Raymond (1981) Seaports and development in the Persian gulf, Durham theses, Durham University. Available at Durham E-Theses Online: http://etheses.dur.ac.uk/7838/ Use policy The full-text may be used and/or reproduced, and given to third parties in any format or medium, without prior permission or charge, for personal research or study, educational, or not-for-prot purposes provided that: • a full bibliographic reference is made to the original source • a link is made to the metadata record in Durham E-Theses • the full-text is not changed in any way The full-text must not be sold in any format or medium without the formal permission of the copyright holders. Please consult the full Durham E-Theses policy for further details. Academic Support Oce, Durham University, University Oce, Old Elvet, Durham DH1 3HP e-mail: [email protected] Tel: +44 0191 334 6107 http://etheses.dur.ac.uk The copyright of this thesis rests with the author. No quotation from it should be published without his prior written consent and information derived from it should be acknowledged SEAPORTS AND DEVELOPMENT IN THE PERSIAN GULF THESIS SUBMITTED FOR THE DEGREE OF DOCTOR OF PHILOSOPHY IN THE UNIVERSITY OF DURHAM by Antony Raymond Walker 1981 17 ,,M'«fl4 ABSTRACT SEAPORTS AND DEVELOPMENT IN THE PERSIAN GULF The practical and theoretical relationship between transport and development is examined in relation to the evolution and operation of maritime transport systems which focus on the major seaports of the Persian Gulf. Concentrating on the ports of Kuwait, Bahrain and Dubai, and using a 'systems' methodology, the negative, as well as positive issues which have emanated from the post-war era of unparalleled economic development and expansion are extracted for analysis. Confirmation of the hypothesis that since the late nineteenth century the intrusion of modern systems of transport Into Gulf society has dismembered, but not destroyed, a former pattern of life based on trading in dhows, leads to the conclusion that a spatial 'dualism' exists in the Gulf, differentiated by the extent to which modern technology has percolated traditional social and economic life. In practical terms, the research focuses on three areas: it measures the spatial extent of the existing dhow trading network; it comments on the inter-relationship between port expansion projects and the general pattern of economic development within the Gulf ; and it highlights problems relating to the overtonnaging of shipping services and port congestion in the Gulf. Theoretically, the relationship between seaports and development is assessed in the context of the significance of behavioural aspects of decision-making in port development and operation. Secondly, the social impact of the modernisation of transport services, measured in terms of the concentration of Investment at the major points of linkage with the world economy - the port cities - is perceived as exacerbating spatially unbalanced growth to the detriment of groups living in peripheral towns and villages. "In 1498 Vasco da Gama was at Malindi in East Africa looking for a pilot to take him to India. There he found none other than Ahmed ibn-Majid, and persuaded him to conduct the Portuguese squadron across to Calicut. Thus, by one of the ironies of history, a great Arab seaman helped bring about the undoing of Arab navigation, for the Arabs could neitfier drive out nor compete with the Portuguese and other European nations which followed them." (Hourani, 1963, p83-84). PERSIAN GULF/ARABIAN GULF Throughout this thesis the term 'Persian Gulf is generally used to denote the study region. It is appreciated that the term 'Arabian Gulf is in common usage in the contemporary Gulf. However, rather than use the clumsy term 'Arab-Persian Gulf the label 'Persian Gulf has been adopted far convenience within the text as ft appears to be the most commonly used alternative throughout the world. Ik use implies no disrespect to the Arab community. ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS I should like to place on record my gratitude to the many people who have both helped and influenced me during the period of this research. In general terms I wish to thank the members of staff in the Department of Geography at Durham University, who stimulated me as an undergraduate to the extent that I became interested in pursuing post-graduate research, In particular I owe a sincere debt to Mr. B.D. Clark, Professor H. Bowen Jones and Professor W.B. Fisher (my research supervisor) who fashioned my interest in Middle East affairs. On location, I would like to thank the many Arabs and non-Arabs not mentioned personally, but who nonetheless, contributed greatly to my fieldwork in the Gulf, all of whom suffered my persistent quest for data and general information. Without their co-operation I would not have ventured very far. Specifically, I wish to thank the following people for their generous hospitality and the significant degree to which they contributed to my research programme: In Kuwait - Dr. M. Mitwalli and the University of Kuwait; Dr. Mohammad A. El-Farra; Abdullah Mohammad Amin; Khalid Bouday; Sa'ad Al Abdullah; Fouad Mulla Houssain; Amad Al Awadi; Majid Badr Jamal El-Din; Captain G.K. Haider; M.M. Derhalli; Sa'ad Al-Jamel; Khaleb. A. Khaleb; Captain Khudadad Khan; Radwan M. Termanini: In Bahrain - His Highness, Shaikh Daij Al Khalifa; Youssef Mohammad Saleh; Hamad Abdullah Abu!; M.D. Kyrle-Pope; Mr. and Mrs J. Shouten; Abdu Bushara; Mohammad Al-Kazi: In Qatar - Captain M.B. Mandour: In the United Arab Emirates - His Highness, Shaikh Rashid Bin Said Al Maktoum; Mr. and Mrs B. Kendall; Mr Neville Allan; Mr. W.R. Duff; Mr and Mrs Neil G. McNeill; Captain A.J. Jar man; M.A. Kadar; Abdul Rahim Galadari and Mr C.H.W. Se I by-Lowndes. INDEX CHAPTER 1 THE NATURE OF PROBLEMS ASSOCIATED WITH THE DEVELOPMENT OF SEAPORTS IN THE PERSIAN GULF Page No. 1.1 Seaport's, Trade and Development 1 1 .2 Port Congestion 5 1 .3 Investment in Port Facilities 12 1.4 Spatial and Locational Implications of Port Development 17 1.5 Investment in Shipping 20 1 .6 Dhow transport - the response of the informal sector. 25 CHAPTER 2 THE PROCESS OF CHANGE IN THE PERSIAN GULF MARITIME TRADING SYSTEM 2.1 The Systems Approach 29 2.2 The Persian Gulf Maritime Trading System 3] 2.2.1 System Boundary 31 2.2.2 Sub-Systems 31 2.2.3 Systems' Components 35 2.2.4 System Control 36 2.2.5 Systems' Environment 36 2.3 Change in the Maritime Trading System 36 2.3.1 The Measurement of Change in the System 37 2.3.2 The Measurement of the Response to Change 37 by decision-makers 2.3.3 Dual Systems 37 2.4 An Hypothesis. 38 CHAPTER 3 TECHNOLOGICAL CHANGE AND SPATIAL STRUCTURE 3.1 Systems Equilibrium : introduction 40 3.2 Steady state equilibrium: sail powered transport 41 3.2.1 The Impact of the Physical Environment 3.2.2 Man's Adaptation to the physical environment 46 3.3 Thermodynamic Equilibrium: decline of dhow transport 49 3.4 Dynamic Equilibrium: Intrusion of modern maritime transport systems 59 3.4.1 Growth of Steamship Services 59 3.4.2 Growth in Port Traffic 62 3.5 Change in Spatial Structure 6 7 3.5.1 The Pattern of Trade 67 3.5.2 Graph Theory Analysis 68 3.5.3 Location Quotient Method 70 CHAPTER 4 TECHNOLOGICAL CHANGE AND BEHAVIOURAL RESPONSE I: DHOW TRANSPORT 4.1 Introduction '° 4.2 Adaptation of a Species 77 4.-2.1 Technological Adaptation 77 4.2.2 Early Dhows 78 4.2.3 Surviving European Maritime Influences 81 4.2.4 Modern Dhows - Adaptations 82 4.3 Operation of the Dhow Trading System 96 4.3.1 Owners 97 4.3.2 Crew 99 4.3.3 Agents 100 4.3.4 Shippers 101 4.3.5 Base Ports 102 4.3.6 Conduct of Trade 103 4.4 Cargoes carried by Dhows 108 4.4.1 Traditional Cargoes 108 4.4.2 Contemporary Cargoes 111 4.4.3 Case Studies: Kuwait, Bahrain and Dubai 112 4.5 The Persian Gulf dhow network 121 4.5.1 The Pattern of dhow flows 122 4.5.2 Cross Trades 130 4.6 Merchant Perspectives 144 4.6.1 The geography of market perception 148 4.6.2 Tariff barriers 159 4.6.3 Smuggling 169 4.6.4 Merchant perspectives: micro-scale case studies 176 4.7 Future function of dhows 184 4.7.1 Competition from alternative transport modes 184 4.7.2 The intrusion of new shipping technology 189 4.7.3 Dhows as specialist feeders. 191 CHAPTER 5 TECHNOLOGICAL CHANGE AND BEHAVIOURAL RESPONSE 11: INTERNATIONAL SHIPPING AND PORT DEVELOPMENT 5.1 The contribution of international shipping to port congestion in the Gulf 1 94 5.1.1 Port Congestion in the Gulf 194 5.1.2 The growth of the ocean shipping network 197 5.1.3 Over tonnaging 207 5.2 The response by shipping conferences to port congestion 232 5.2.1 Conference structures 232 5.2.2 Freight rates and surcharges 236 5.3 Solutions to port congestion 2^3 5.3.1 Response by governments I - Investment in harbour facilities 243 5.3.2 New technology in shipping 246 5.3.3 Response by governments II - Investment in National Shipping Lines 251 5.3.4 Joint ventures in shipping 253 5.4 Spatial and Locational implications of port development 258 5.4.1 A hierarchy of Gulf ports 258 5.4.2 Cargo flows 264 5.4.3 Overlapping hinterlands 266 5.4.4 Port complimentarity I - national ports 270 5.4.5 Port complimentarity II - seaports and industrialization in the Gulf 283 5.4.6 Port competition I - The Upper Gulf 288 5.4.7 Port competition II - The Middle Gulf 292 5.4.8 Port competition III - The Lower Gulf 295 5.4.9 Further considerations 308 CHAPTER 6 CONCLUSION 6.1 Re-examination of hypothesis 309 6.2 Practical implications