Vessels.

The sea traffic is carried on partly by steamers and partly by sailing vessels. Of the local sailing craft, besides bambots which are small one-sailed passenger craft, the chief varieties are the padav, machva, galbat, gharab, toni, mhangiri, phatemari, kothia, and batelo. [ Details of these vessels are given in the Thana Statistical Account, Bombay Gazetteer, XIII. 342-353.] The only port where padavs and small boats are built is Alibag. In other ports, Kolis Bhandaris and sometimes Musalmans bring made machvas from Bombay, and small fishing canoes from the Malabar coast. At Antora the Kolis sometimes build boats of about a ton burden. At Alibag the boat-builders are chiefly carpenters from Ratnagiri and Rajapur. The sailors are chiefly Bhandaris, Kolis, and Musalmans. Most of them are natives of Bombay, Ratnagiri, Rajapur, Anjanvel, Alibag, Balsar, and Janjira. Besides his food a sailor is paid from 8s. to 12s. (Rs. 4- Rs. 6) a month in cash. A captain, when not the owner of the vessel, gets twice as much pay as a seaman. Sometimes the crew and captains are paid for the voyage, but they are generally paid by the month. Sometimes, at the end of every year, the present of a turban or from 12s. to 14s. (Rs. 6-Rs. 7) in cash is given to each sailor, and something more to the captain. It is not usual for shipowners to provide their seamen with liquor and tobacco. The crew of a ship of four to five tons is a captain and four or five men; of a ship of ten to twelve tons, six to eight men; and of a vessel of twenty-five tons, from eight to ten men. In 1880-81, 3275 loaded vessels of 23,612 tons, and 5665 empty vessels of 49,158 tons entered the three Kolaba customs divisions of Rajpuri, Alibag, and Sankshi. In the same year 7353 loaded vessels of 62,819 tons and 1427 empty vessels of 8293 tons were cleared out of these divisions. The details are:

Kolaba Vessels, 1880-81.

Life Boats.

Alibag has two life-boats called the Bhavani and the Allen Shuttleworth. The Bhavani was brought to Alibag in July 1867, and the Allen Shuttleworth in June 1867. The Allen Shuttle-worth, which is self-righting and self-discharging, is called lifter the present conservator of Forests in the Northern Division, who, in 1866,1867, and 1868, helped in saving upwards of a hundred lives. The life-boats can hold from thirty to fifty men and are fair sailers, but having no depth of keel they cannot go very close to the wind. Before the opening of the Suez Canal, when the course of most of the vessels was from the south, the Alibag creek was not uncommonly taken for the month of the Bombay harbour. This is still (1882) occasionally the case, and, during the stormy months of the south-west monsoon, signal guns are kept loaded in the Kolaba fort to warn vessels off the coast. There were thirteen wrecks between 1857 and 1867, and during the last twelve years there have been eight including the Elizabeth in 1874. [On the 1st of August 1882 a Spanish war vessel narrowly escaped being wrecked.] Bach life-boat is manned by a Koli captain, who is permanently employed, and ten Koli seamen who are engaged for the rains. Of the crew four, in turns, remain on the look-out in the fort and hoist a flag whenever a sail is in sight, and fire a gun to warn the ship and the life-boat crew if a ship comes dangerously near the shore.

Light House.

The only light-house in the district stands on the highest point of the island of Khanderi or Kenery, in north latitude 18° 42' 8" and east longitude 72° 48' 17". It was built in 1867, and is an octagonal masonry tower on the centre of a flat-roofed house, seventy-five feet high from base to vane. It shows a single fixed white dioptric light of order one, which in clear weather is visible for twenty miles from the deck of a ship. The height of the centre of the lantern above high water is 161 feet, and its area of illumination is 225° of the horizon. A flag staff, 200 feet high, stands north-east by north from the light tower.

Ports.

The thirteen ports of the district are for customs purposes grouped under four divisions, Alibag, Sankshi or Pen Rajpuri or Mandad, and Bankot. Alibag has seven ports, Alibag, Thal, Revdanda, Mandva, Revas, and Dharamtar. The trade from Dharamtar appears under Karanja at the mouth of the creek in Thana. The Revdanda returns include the trade of Roha at the top of the Revdanda creek. Under Sankshi or Pen are two ports, Aniora the port of Pen on the Pen creek and Nagothna at the head of the Revas creek or Amba river. Rajpuri has one port Mandad, which for customs purposes is known as Talkhadi or the Tal creek. Bankot, besides Mahapral and other Ratnagiri ports, includes the trade of the three Kolaba ports on the Savitri, Ghodegaon, Dasgaon, and Mahad. As the trade of these ports is not included in the Alibag customs division, the details are given under Ghodegaon, Dasgaon, and Mahad in Places of Interest. During the eight years ending 1881-82 the total value of the sea-trade averaged £285,916, of which £185,698 were exports and £100,218 were imports. The total value of goods fell from £278,679 in 1874-75 to £215,190 in 1875-76, and rose- to £357,032 in 1878-79. It again fell to £231,982 in 1880-81 and again rose to £268,076 in 1881-82.

The following statement gives the details of the Kolaba ports, exclusive of Dharamtar, Ghodegaon, Dasgaon, and Mahad:

Kolaba Sea Trade (By Ports), 1874-1881.

¹During the three years ending 1877-78 the export and import trade of Revas was included in the accounts of Karanja in Thana.

Kolaba Sea Trade (By Ports), 1874-1881—continued.

Of the three customs divisions, during the eight years ending 1881-82, Sankshi had the largest trade and Rajpuri the smallest. In Alibag the total value of goods varied from £165,167 in 1878-79 to £105,772 in 1880-81, and averaged £134,810; in Sankshi it varied from £179,705 in 1977-78 to £79,407 in 1875-76, and averaged £138,678; and in Rajpuri it varied from £15,307 in 1877-78 to £10,325 in 1874-75, and averaged£l2,427. Of £134,810 the total average value of goods in Alibag, £77,167 were exports and £57,643 were imports; of £138,678 the average value of goods in Sankshi £97,598 were exports and £41,080 were imports; and of £12,427 the average value of goods in Rajpuri, £10,932 were exports and £1495 were imports:

Kolaba Sea Trade (By Divisions), 1874-1881.

continued..

Kolaba Sea Trade (By Divisions), 1874-1881—continued.

Alibag.

The chief Alibag exports are rice husked and cleaned, fuel, stones, fish, vegetables, sugarcane, charcoal, wood, hides, gram, til, and hemp to Bombay; fish, oil, wheat, onions, mug, and nachni to several Konkan ports; cleaned rice and dried-fish to Bankot, Anjanvel, and Jayatapur in Ratnagiri. The rice is the produce of Navgaon and other villages in the neighbourhood. The fish are brought by the Kolis from Theronda, Thal, and Revdanda. The wood is bought at Government auctions in the forests near Revdanda. The imports are molasses, cocoanuts, groundnuts, turmeric, chillies, coriander seed, tobacco, shembi bark, and coir from Ratnagiri and Kolaba; pulse, gram, sugar, potatoes, cloth, brass, copper, tobacco, dates, stationery, and Chinaware from Bombay, and date-palm mats from Umbargaon. The traders are Gujarat and Marwar Vanis, Bombay Menians, Gujarat Machhis, and Ratnagiri Bhandaris. The Gujarat Machhis carry goods in their own or in hired vessels, and stay from February to May. The Ratnagiri Bhandaris deal in fuel and wheat from October till May. The Gujarat and Marwar Vani traders are wealthy The Bhandaris generally trade on borrowed capital. The craft that visit Alibag are machvas, padavs, batelas, phatemaris, and kothias. Padavs and batelas of ten to 100 tons come from Bombay, Malabar, Kochin, Habsan, Jafarabad, Diu, Balsar, Daman, and Goa. The Bombay, passenger-steamers which call at Alibag are of fifty to 200 tons. At neap tides vessels of ten tons and at spring-tides vessels of eighty tons can be moored near the Alibag landing.

Thal.

The chief exports from Thal are husked and cleaned rice and fish sent to Bombay and the Konkan ports. The imports are oil, cloth, gram, spiked millet, wheat, chillies, dates, molasses, sugar, and dry dates from Bombay; udid, coriander seed, mug, and hemp from Bhiwndi and Panvel; and fuel, hemp, and shembi bark from Bankot. The traders are Brahmans, Gujarat and Marwar Vanis, and Kolis., and the vessels mhangiris and machvas of ten to twelve tons.

Revdanda.

The articles exported from Revdanda are produced chiefly in Revdanda, Chaul, Ramraj, and other neighbouring villages. They are cleaned rice, fuel, leather, live, stock, vegetables, horns, betelnuts, and brooms sent to Bombay; vari, nachni, and cocoanuts sent to Anjanvel in Ratnagiri and Jafarabad in South Kathiawar; and cocoanuts, firewood, and brooms sent to Panvel. The imports are cloth, clarified butter, sugar, almonds, dates, copper sheets, tin, lead, paper, and umbrellas from Bombay; and onions, potatoes, shembi bark, udid, coriander seed, and chillies from Habsan, Bankot, and Bhiwndi. These articles are imported partly for local use and parity for export to Roha. Most of the traders are local Vanis, Brahmans, Marathas, Kolis and Bhandaris The vessels that frequent the port are machvas, balavs; and batelas of twenty-five to thirty tons, phatemaris of forty to fifty tons, and small steam- boats of fifty to 150 tons. At spring-tides ships of 100 to 400 tons can moor in the Cheul harbour.

Mandva and Revas.

The exports from Mandva and Revas are husked and cleaned rice,  sugarcane, fuel, mangoes, and hemp to Bombay; and cleaned rice, tamarind pods, and bones to the Konkan ports. The Mandva imports are fuel gram wheat, iron, coir-ropes, and cocoanut-oil from' Bombay; tobacco, hemp, and bones from Antora and Alibag; and rice-husk from Bhiwndi, The Revas imports are molasses, cocoa-kernel, and turmeric from Vijaydurg; grass, sugar, oil, grapes, iron, and perfumery from Bombay; and shembi bark, hemp, cocoanuts, and betelnuts from the Konkan ports. Most of the traders are local Brahmans, Marathas, Kolis, Bhandaris, and Musalmans.

Antora and Nagothna.

The exports from Antora and Nagothna are husked and cleaned rice, nachni, and vari sent to other Konkan ports; rice husked and cleaned, wood, charcoal, hay, and leather to Bombay; cleaned rice to Broach, Surat, and Thana; find salt, wheat, molasses, potatoes, chillies, and onions to Revdanda and Alibag. These exports are chiefly produced in the division and in some parts of Poona. The imports are sugar, clarified butter, dry dates, cocoanuts, cloth, iron, copper, brails, corn, and fish from Bombay; lime, fish, tobacco, betelnut, coir, and molasses from Ratnagiri; plantains, cocoanuts, and sugarcane from Bassein, Agashi, and Mahim; gunny-bags from Kalyan; rice and pulse husk, and cotton-seeds from Fanvel; and moha berries from Surat. Part of the import is used locally and part finds its way to Poona. The traders are Marwar Vanis, Prabhus, Shenvis, Brahmans, Bhandaris, Khojas, and Musalmans. The trade has of late declined owing to the competition of railways and steamers. The craft that visit A'ntora and Nagothna are machvas of three to eight tons from Rajpuri, Ratnagiri, Malvan, Alibag, and Thai, and padava of ten to twenty-five tons from Bombay. Passenger-steamers of 150 to 175 tons touch at the Dharamtar pier, ten miles from the mouth of the Nagothna creek.

Rajpuri.

The exports from Tal creek or Mandal are myrobalans, coarse cloth, rice, mustard seed, tobacco, and live stock. The imports are cloth, drugs, cocoanuts, iron, coffee, fish, betelnut, spices, sugar, and tobacco. The traders are Bhandaris and Musalmans, most of whom are men of capital. None of them belong to Mandad or the neighbouring villages. They stay in Mandad from November till the end of May. A brisk timber-trade has sprung up in Mandad, since rules for preserving the forests have been enforced in Habsan. Machas and other vessels of fifty to 125 tons from Bombay, Habsan, Goa, and Balsar visit this port, anchoring from fifty to seventy feet from the landing-place. Vessels of thirty to seventy tons can reach the landing at spring-tides.

The following statement given for 1880-81 the value of most of the articles of export and import Of £92,162 the value of imports, the chief articles are piecegoods valued at £19,602 brought from Bombay; sugar and molasses valued at £9608, brought from Bombay and Ratnagiri; tobacco valued at. £7138 brought from Bombay and Ratnagiri; and liquor valued at £6633, from the Uran distilleries. Of £139,820 the value of exports, the chief articles are rice husked and cleaned valued at £83,970, sent to Bombay, Surat, Broach, and Thana; puke valued at £5253 from the Deccan districts to Bombay and Ratnagiri; charcoal valued at £3162 to Bombay; and fish valued at £3120 chiefly to Ratnagiri.

 Kolaba Sea Trade, 1886-31.