TREE PORT OF EMDEN 171 
After 1874, however, the trade of the port of Emden declined 
again. This was due to the inadequacy of the harbor accommoda- 
tions and river channel for the seagoing traffic, which was caused by 
the change from sailing ships to steamers as well as by an unfavorable 
tariff for the port of Emden. Negotiations in this regard took place 
between the interested parties and the Prussian State and resulted in 
the improvement of the channel of the Ems River, as well as in im- 
provements of the existing dock basins and the constructions of new 
ones. The project was agreed upon in 1879, and work was started 
at the beginning of 1880. In 1888 the Emden Harbor was transferred 
to the German Government. Some time later the Ems-Jade Canal 
(through Oldenburg to Wilhelmshaven) was handed over to the 
public. From that time the channel was always navigable, and 
uninterrupted building activity in the harbor construction, as well 
8s in the regulation of the Ems Channel, set in. From 1892 to 1899 
the Dortmund-Ems Canal was constructed for vessels up to 800 tons 
capacity. The outer harbor was declared as a free zone in 1901 and 
the new inner harbor after its completion in 1913. 
Location.—The harbor facilities of the city of Emden are situated 
about 35 miles (63 kilometers) inland from Borkum Island, on the 
Ems River. The channel from the sea has, at mean low water, a 
depth of 10 meters (32 feet). The management of the channel is in 
the hands of the Reichsverkehrsministerium, which is endeavoring 
to increase it to a depth of 13 meters (41 feet 6 inches). At present 
vessels with a depth of 29 feet can safely reach the port of Emden. 
The difference of the tide between high and low water is generally 3 
meters (9 feet 6 inches). 
Dimensions of free zone.—The port of Emden, which has a total 
Water area of 148.5 hectares (367 acres), consists of : 
Acres 
Alter Binnenhafen (water area, 10 hectares). __. i 
Binnen Hafen (water area, 34 hectares) - a ieee. 84 
Industrie Hafen (water area, 30 hectares). ._____. 74 
Neuer Binnenhafen (water ares, 57 hectares) .__.._ 141 
Aussenhafen (water area, 17.5 hectares). _ .- 43 
Of the above-mentioned basins, the Neuer Binnenhafen and the 
Aussenhafen are free ports, whereas all other basins are within the 
Customs limits of Germany. 
In explanation of the peculiar situation of the various basins, it 
should be stated that in olden times the city of Emden was situated 
directly on the Ems River, but the constant working of the tides and 
the waves of the North Sea during stormy weather brought about a 
8reat change in the Ems River bed, so that the city of Emden itself 
8 now situated about 3 kilometers (1.8 miles) from the embankment 
°f the Ems. The land on which the new harbors are erected is all 
eclaimed land. with the exception of the center of the Binnenhafen