Although the initial French efforts to establish commercial influence in the region proved to be unsuccessful enough to require a government bailout, the Franco-Ethiopian Railway itself was a success and allowed Djibouti's commerce to quickly eclipse the former caravan-based trade carried on with nearby Zeila in British Somaliland. Djibouti became the center of exports from southern Ethiopia and the Ogaden, including trade in Harari coffee and khat. Djibouti began to develop as a commercial center. In 1932, Djibouti was the first town to be wired to electricity in French Somaliland. On 12 July 1926, the Fontainebleau, a Messageries Maritimes steamer loaded with cotton and heading for China caught fire while approaching Djibouti. The captain decides to flood the holds and run aground his ship in the middle of the harbor of Djibouti. The inconvenience will be significant for the port traffic. But we then decided to use the wreck as a promontory of a new deep-water port, connecting it to the Marabout plateau by a 700 m jetty. The brilliant idea was accepted and work began in 1931. The first phase was completed in 1935 and considerably increased port and rail traffic. An oil terminal was built in 1937. 