'blessed conquest'

[mjt60a]

Just read in the Times yesterday that the remains of P.S Fath-e-Mubarak (it says that means Blessed Conquest) were discovered after 150 years, in Pakistan...
...an article I found online shows 'some rusted metal with rivets in' but the Times had a drawing of the ship (riverboat, I should say) when in service...
http://tribune.com.pk/story/120616/150-year-old-vessel-unearthed-by-the-floods/
http://tribune.com.pk/story/123019/blessed-conquest-ran-between-karachi-and-thatta-for-the-british-historian-mubarak-ali
...might be of some interest

[mjt60a]

I photographed the newspaper picture...

[Roderick Smith]

What a wonderful find: both for Pakistani historians, and for Paddleducks.  I had always wondered about Indus River as paddleboat territory.  150 years ago, it was part of India, which had paddleboats in many places.  When I saw Indus River (a January visit), the banks were high, but the water could barely sustain a sailing fishing boat: the result of modern irrigation schemes.  150 years ago, it may have been navigable in all seasons, but may have been seasonal.
Could there also have been coastal paddlesteamers across the gulf, a short-cut route to Mumbai?

Regards,
Roderick B Smith
Rail News Victoria Editor