1210

THE COLLIERY GUARDIAN.

June 29, 1917.

storage by the trolleys and delivered in baskets by
hand or in skips by the steam crane. Improvements
are now being made at Sebattik, however, which
include the construction of elevated timber bunkers
adjoining the jetty, and intended to be filled by means
of an elevator supplied from the trolleys mentioned.
Deliveries from these bunkers will be effected from
chutes, by means of which the trolleys will be loaded,
and the coal will then be tipped into a ground-level
hopper—situated at the shore end of the jetty—which
will serve a belt conveyor. This conveyor is being
erected along the jetty to the wharf, and slopes to a
steel structure supporting a hopper, into which the
coal is discharged, and from which it is delivered by
an adjustable chute. This equipment and improved
arrangement will more than double the rate of hand-
ling, and enable deliveries of up to about 100 tons an
hour to be effected.

Silimpopon coal is also stocked, to the extent of
about 2,000 tons, at Sandakan, the capital of British

Fig. 3.—Coal Transporter Bridges at Batavia (Tandjong Priok).

North Borneo, where there is anchorage available for
large vessels and about 25 ft. depth of water along-
side the wharf. Bunker supplies can be effected with
a sufficiency of labour at the rate of up to about 60
tons per hour. Sandakan is situated about 200 miles
north of Sebattik, both these ports being convenient
and easy of access for bunker supplies to vessels
voyaging between China, Japan, or the Philippine
Islands and Java, Australia, or Europe. It may be
added that the output of coal from the Silimpopon
collieries is being considerably increased, and that the
quality of the coal is improving. In addition to bunker
supplies, cargoes are now shipped to Singapore and
elsewhere.

Labuan.

In the island of Labuan, which it situated off the
south-west coast of British North Borneo, there are
coal mines about 10 miles north of the harbour of
Victoria, which is provided with wharves having 15 to
25 ft. of water alongside. The principal colliery at
Labuan met with disasters by flooding and fire a few
years back, and has since been closed down. The con-
veyor equipment available at Victoria Harbour for
shipping the output from that colliery has also been
transferred to Sebattik. Previously, however, the
coal was transported by light railway from the mines,
and stored at Victoria Harbour, to the extent of about
5,000 tons, in covered sheds alongside the coal wharf.
Some bunker supplies are still available at Labuan,
the coal being obtained from Sarawak.

Pulo Laut.

Pulo Laut is an island to the south-east of the Dutch
territory of Borneo, and just off the mainland. At
the west of the island, and about 7J miles within the
Straits of Laut, is the harbour of Stagen, the northern
approach to which is about a mile in width, and has a
low-water depth of 30 ft. This harbour has been
developed for the shipment of local coal, the mining
of which was first commenced in 1903, since when it
has been extended, until the annual production is now
about 200,000 tons, and the resources are estimated to
exceed 145,000,000 tons. A light railway is avail-
able from the mines to the harbour, a distance of about
five miles, and a jetty about 350 ft. in length pro-
vides a depth of about 24 ft. of water, and allows of
vessels going alongside. Near the jetty, on shore, a
covered storage is available for about 8,000 tons, and
the coal is conveyed by hand on flat-deck trolleys, rails
for which are provided on both sides of the jetty.
These trolleys take six baskets, each holding about
1 cwt., and the baskets are carried on board up plank-
ways, deliveries of about 35 tons per hour being thus
made on either side of the jetty. This method of
handling has, however, been found insufficient to meet
the requirements, and a mechanical system of handling
(fig. 4) has also been adopted in the form of an over-
head electrically-operated transporter, supported by a
jetty. Self-discharging skips are used, and are auto-
matically discharged, at the head of the jetty, into an
elevated hopper supported by the transporter struc-
ture. From this hopper the coal is transferred to the

vessel by adjustable chutes, this system enabling the
rate of handling to be increased to about 100 tons per
hour, with a minimum of breakage, labour, and con-
fusion. Not only is Pulo Laut coal supplied for
bunkers at Stagen, but cargoes are also shipped from
there to Singapore, Hong Kong, etc. Since the coal
burns rapidly with a long flame, and has a high ash
content, it is necessary to fire lightly, and the best
results are obtainable with a short grate; but the coal
is claimed to be equal to the average Indian and
Japanese coals. Finally, with regard to Pulo Laut as
a coaling station, it is conveniently situated on the
routes from South Africa, Australia, and Java to
China and Japan.

Sarawak.

The territory of Sarawak is south-west of British
North Borneo, and separated therefrom by the State
of Brunei. Coal is mined at Brooketon and Sadong,
both situated at the north of the territory, whilst
Kuching, the capital, is at the extreme south. Coal

cargoes are shipped at Brooketon to Singapore and
elsewhere, as well as to Kuching, where a hulk is kept
to provide floating storage for bunker supplies. It
may be added that the shipments to Singapore during
1915 amounted to about 6,000 tons.

Macassar.

Macassar, another Dutch port in the East Indies, is
situated towards the extreme south of the island of
Celebes, which is east of Borneo. Anchorage can be
effected near the shore at this port, and there is a

Fig. 4.—Coaling Equipment at Pulo Laut (Dutch Borneo).



wharf 550 yds. in length, with 28 ft. depth of water
alongside. Harbour improvements have been effected,
including the construction of a quay, also about
550 yds. in length, dredged alongside to provide 30 ft.
of water. There is a coaling jetty, and a stock of
about 5,000 tons is usually available, consisting of
Australian, Sumatra, and Welsh coal. Shipping at
Macassar is mostly concerned with the Dutch East
Indies.

Singapore.

Singapore is the principal port of the Straits Settle-
ments, and, in fact, is the most prominent port of call
on the Far Eastern shipping route. It is an island,
just off the mainland, at the extreme south-east of the
Malay Peninsula, and at the southern entrance of the
Straits of Malacca. Coal supplies are received there
—mostly for bunker requirements—from various
sources, and total over 600,000 tons per annum, the
actual figures relating to coal imports at Singapore for
the year 1915 being about 604,000 tons, of which nearly
415,000 tons were consigned from Japan, nearly 50,000

tons from Australia, about 47,000 tons from India, and
34,500 tons from China. Supplies were also received
from the East Indian sources already named. The
total consignments during last year (1916) amounted
to slightly over 633,000 tons. Extensive accommoda-
tion is available for shipping at Singapore, and is
frequently being improved and added to, owing to the
congestion resulting from the many vessels using the
port, since nearly every vessel bound to and from the
Far East makes Singapore a port of call. Alongside
the several wharves there is a depth of water of from
20 to 40 ft., the principal wharf being the Tanjong
Pagar, which is over 1| miles in length. Bunkering
is effected alongside by coolie labour, the coal being
carried in baskets from the storage situated at the
further side of the wharf. Supplies are also given
from lighters, storage being kept to some extent in
hulks moored just outside the harbour. Large gangs
of labour can at times effect good despatch, but com-
plaints have not been unusual on account of shortage
of labour, and conditions are favour-
able for improvements, not only in
bunkering, but also in the discharge
of coal cargoes. Representations
have been _made in the past that
improved despatch of colliers could
be effected at the port if hulks were
permitted within the harbour, and
that no congestion would result
therefrom in the harbour, which has
a large area; whilst, on the other
hand, congestion at the wharf would
be reduced.

Penang.

Penang, another prominent port
of the Straits Settlements, is situ-
ated about 350 miles north-west of
Singapore', like which it is an island.
It is perhaps more concerned with
inward and outward oversea traffic
and coastal vessels than as a port of
call for bunkers. Large vessels
mostly lie at anchor in the harbour,
although there is a pier, with a long
wharf at its head, about 1,200 ft. in
length, and with a depth of about
30 ft. of water alongside, where
cargo is frequently transhipped from
ocean vessels to smaller coastal
steamers. The coal imports at
Penang during the year 1915
amounted to rather more than
93,000 tons, of which about 46,000
tons were consigned from India, and
about 32,000 tons from China; dur-
ing 1916 the coal cargoes discharged
there totalled 108,500 tons. Coal has
been located and proved in Malaya
to the extent of about 10 million
tons, and mines are being worked at
Rawang—about 25 miles from Kuala
Lumpur—where a branch railway track has been con-
structed from the colliery to connect with the main
trunk line. The coal produced so far is found to be
of the highly-volatile, long-flaming class, with a high
moisture content, and experiments are being carried
out to ascertain if this coal is suitable for briquetting.
It is anticipated that it will meet local requirements
for the railways, etc. Another source of coal supply,
situated at Enggor on the Perak River, is being pros-
pected.

In concluding these notes reference may perhaps be

made to the Philippine Islands, situated north-east of
the island of Borneo.

Manila.

Since the annexation of the Philippine Islands by
the United States in 1898, the oversea trade there has
considerably increased, about half being with the
United States. The imports of coal for the year 1914
amounted to about 587,725 tons, having a value of
£364,530. The greatest proportion of this total,
valued at £249,000, was consigned from Japanese
mines, whilst the value of shipments from Australia
that year was about £43,500, from China £38.500, and
from the United States of America £25,000. The total
imports of coal in 1913 were slightly less — about
552,400 tons, having a value of £330,000 ; and still less
in 1912, amounting to about 407,500 tons, with a value
of approximately £220,000.

Profiteering in coal at Manila, due to German
interests, was noticeable during the autumn of 1914,
when about 16,000 tons were despatched, and about
20,000 tons were available on German vessels, for most