Inlet (Khor Ash Sham) of the Musandam Peninsula. Hence this island became known as Telegraph Island. A repeater station was built on the island, which was about a mile offshore, because of fears about the volatile tribes on the mainland, primarily the Zahuriyeen tribe, who lived on the nearby Maqtab Isthmus. The work of laying the Gwadar to Musandam section took a month to complete. The station at Musandam was fitted with telegraphic equipment by Siemens. There were quarters for the telegraph operators, together with those for the servants and two hulks fitted up for staff who wanted a break from the monotony of living on the island. They had a couple of boats for their leisure time, and regular newspaper deliveries. This, together with the work of maintaining the cable, and visits from steamers to change over staff and bring supplies, it was hoped would keep the staff occupied. The Musandam to Bushire section was completed on 25 March 1864, and that between Kurrachee and the head of the Gulf at Fao, on 5 April. Unfortunately, the Turks experienced problems in completing the link from Baghdad to Fao, primarily due to attacks by hostile tribes in Mesopotamia, which were only stopped after negotiations with local sheikhs and by stationing guards at close intervals along the line. The through connection was eventually achieved in 1865. The telegraph station was abandoned in December 1868 when the cable was diverted to Henjam and Jask. In 1870, after a new cable was laid from Bombay to Aden, there was a significant reduction in the use of the Persian Gulf cable. Operation The Persian Gulf cable was never entirely reliable, with interruptions and errors at the repeater stations. A message usually took a minimum of five days to reach London from Karachi. Another problem was the destructive influence of the teredo (a wormlike bivalve mollusk) on the gutta percha insulation of the cables, which was more susceptible to them than the india rubber insulation used on other cables in warm water areas. In 1865, to address these problems, it was planned to run a second line onshore through Persia, and although this line was built, it was abandoned in 1868 because of objections from the Turks who regarded it as unnecessary competition with the Fao to Baghdad line. After the repeater station had been established on Telegraph Island, it became apparent that the location