the lighthouse and a small detachment from the Aden garrison. Otherwise, the barren waterless island was left to the few fishermen and Somali herders who went there. Occasional proposals by an Aden coaling company to open a branch on the island did not materialize. While Aden had a fine natural harbour, it became ineffective starting in the mid-19th century as iron and steel ships of greater draught were being built. Starting in the 1860s, many of the larger steamers had to stay well off Aden Harbour, making the process of coaling and taking in provisions both time-consuming and hazardous. This deficiency was not to be overcome until dredging projects began in earnest in the early 1890s. In 1881, a complete outsider, Hinton Spalding of London, was granted permission to start a coaling station on Perim, whose inner harbour could accommodate vessels of any draught. With the backing of a number of large ship-owners, he launched the Perim Coal Company (PCC) and on 29 August 1883 Perim Harbour supplied coal provisions to its first steamer. This marked the beginning of a struggle between Aden and Perim for the Red Sea coaling business that was to be waged by the two ports until the mid-1930s. During those 50 years, Perim was to be entirely geared for supplying coal: the harbour, roads and accommodation for workers were laid out for this purpose only. As for Perim's lack of water, it was no more a drawback than at Aden: both ports supplied water from condensers to the ships since Aden water, delivered from out of town, was considered too brackish for the purpose. Before long the PCC was also able to grab the lion's share of the salvage business due to it being very near the most dangerous waters in the area. Between 1923 and 1927 more coal was being loaded at Perim than at Aden. However, Perim's decline came fast due to its failure to grab a share of the fast-growing oil fuel business that was cornered by Aden as coal-burning steamers were being retired. The PCC went bankrupt in 1935 and Perim slipped back into insignificance. During the First World War, the Turks in Arabia sent a force to threaten Aden and the British communications along the Red Sea. This included an assault on Perim on the 14 and 15 June 1915 when Turks landed on the north coast of the island.