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Swiss Rhine Port of Basle Shows Constant Progress RECENT article in the Anglo- Swiss Commercial Gazette points out that on Noy. 17, 1930, the 1,000,000 ton figure of turn- over was recorded at the Rhine Port of Basle and the event was the occa- sion of a special celebration in cir- ‘eles connected with river shipping. Up to the end of November the turnover recorded increased to 1,- 040,467 tons, the turnover for the month of November itself having been 94,120 tons. This favorable state of affairs is due.to the excel- lent conditions which have obtained on the Rhine throughout the sum- mer, the level of water on the open river having made it possible to make extensive use of the Rhine itself as opposed to the lateral Huningen canal from Strasbourg. Of the total turnover for the eleven months of 1930 given above, 583,179 tons were transported via the canal as against 457,288 tons via the open river. Of the turnover of 1,040,467 tons for traffic plays a much more important part in Rhine traffic to Basle than that downstream. The accompany- Table Showing Fluctuations in Rhine Traffic Rhine Tons PROUAP Vee Ses a ee Ae 690 PEDTURIV Soe on ces g q 11 GeO see RO Na Be ease IME cae neRTe pei 174 PTI eke nee hen ee ER 8,194 EY Gs SiR OF rc en OS eae ee 81,105 MNINIO ideo ie ee re ec ta sn eee oe 68,161 SUT ise Se a ep ea CDSE a 118,524 August ...653:.; 111,554 September ... 32,421 Orton eee nck esi ee 51,978 November 39,480 457,288 the eleven months of 1930, the figure of 952,256 represented goods brought up river, which shows that upstream Canal 1930 1929 1928 Tons Tons Tons Tons 54,518 55,208 14,054 21,111 87,101 37,108 Ss desaceaet 25,878 52,265 52,439 25,193 86,834 80,588 83,782 64,847 82,786 76,172 112,277 72,959 46,848 68,931 137,092 15,149 42,403 68,522 182,046 93,318 41,425 9,902 121,456 69,624 9,915 22,811 55,2382 73,016 53,670 57,729 109,707 47,350 60,996 54,640 94,120 86,773 A9 533 583,179 1,040,467 421,399 572,283 ing table shows the fluctuations in Rhine traffic throughout the year 1930 with comparative figures for e : ene ‘os f 2 me St. FJohannhafen, Showing Pneumatic Grain Unloader in Foreground MARINE REVIEwW—March, 1931 two preceding years, 1929 and 1928. The Rhine steamship and unload- ing companies established in the Rhine harbors represent a capital of 22,000,000 Swiss franes. The build- ings, wharfs and docks belonging to these companies are insured for a value upward of 10,000,000 Swiss frances. The capital invested in the various constructions and _ ships- amounts to 30,000,000 Swiss franes neo 4 RE? Basle, Switzerland, is Rapidly Developing Into a Leading Inland Harbor and the number of persons engaged in Swiss Rhine navigation is between 1000 and 1200. The most important cargoes trans- ported by waterway to Basle include coal, iron, bar, clay oil, benzine, grain and chemical raw materials. Cargoes of phosphates and wood also are on the ascendant. The water- front has a wharf length of 2100 meters, 18 cranes, eight pneumatic grain unloaders and 14.5 kilometers of rail. Traffic in the Rhine harbors in 1928 did not equal that of the pre- ceding year, owing to the insufli- cient water level prevalent at thar time. This points clearly to the neces- sity of hastening the regulation of the Rhine, a work which, according to the opinion of men well versed in these matters, should be carried out independently from the _ side-canal plan to be accomplished on French territory and entailing the construc- tion of several vast stowage works during the next 10 years. The Swiss government has already entered into an agreement with the German au- thorities to this effect and thus a first decisive move has been made toward solving the problem of navigation on the Rhine throughout the year. As the advantages of navigation on the Rhine become more generally known, other Swiss districts (aside from Basle) are availing themselves of this transportation route. In 1924 nearly one-half of the merchandise was destined to Basle alone; in 1926 the proportion was reduced to 15 per cent and in 1927 to 8.3 per cent. 31