Wikipedia

East & West Steamship Company

East & West Steamship Company (ایسٹ اینڈ ویسٹ اسٹیم شپ کمپنی) was one of the oldest locally owned shipping line in Pakistan until it was nationalised in 1974. Its ship, SS Fatima was the first ship ever registered at the newly established Port of Registry at Karachi in August 1948.[1] It was owned by the Cowasjee family. The company was restructured as the 'East and West Steamship Co. (1961) Ltd.' from 1961

Empire Mariner, which East & West bought in 1951 and renamed Fausta

Directors

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The following list consists of individuals who at one time were directors of the company.

Agents

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The company served as agents for Nippon Yusen Kaisha, Tokyo, Japan and The Great Eastern Shipping Company Limited of Bombay (now Mumbai), India.[4]

Ships

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Ship Built In service for Company Type Tonnage Fate Notes
SS Fatima 1942 1948 – 1956 Steel; cargo ship 671 GRT Broken up in March 1962[5] Built as HMIS Shillong (naval trawler) by Burn & Co. Ltd., Calcutta, converted in 1948
SS Figura 1943 1948 – post 1959 Steel; cargo ship 482 GRT Built as HMIS Cuttack (naval trawler) by Burn & Co. Ltd., Calcutta, converted in 1949
SS Firishta 1942 1948 – post 1959 Steel; cargo ship 467 GRT Built as HMIS Poona (naval trawler) by Hooghly Dkg. & Engineering Co. Ltd., Calcutta, converted in 1948
SS Fritha 1942 1948? – post 1959 Steel; cargo ship 467 GRT Built as HMIS Agra (naval trawler) by Hooghly Dkg. & Engineering Co. Ltd., Calcutta, converted in 1948
SS Forma 1941 1948? – post 1959 Steel; tug 471 GRT Built as HMIS Travancore (naval trawler) by Garden Reach Workshop Ltd., Calcutta, converted in 1952
SS Fravarta 1942 1948 – post 1959 Steel; tug 445 GRT Built as HMIS Karachi (naval trawler) by Alcock, Ashdwon & Co. Ltd., Bombay, converted in 1949
SS Firoza 1913 1947 – 1966 Steel; cargo ship 4,279 GRT Broken up at Karachi in October 1966 Built as Falls City by Ropner & Co. Ltd., Stockton-on-Tees
SS Firdausa 1923 1949 – 1963 Steel; cargo ship 7,938 GRT Broken up at Karachi in April 1963 Built as London Importer by Furness SB Company, Haverton Hill
SS Futura 1919 1951 – 1960 Steel; cargo ship 6,869 GRT Broken up at Karachi in October 1960 Built as Crosskeys by Skinner & Eddy, Seattle
SS Fausta 1922 1951 – 1963 Steel; cargo ship 5,055 GRT Broken up at Karachi in October 1963 Built as Schwarzwald by Deutsche Werft, Hamburg
SS Fatakarda later Minocher Cowasjee 1920 1950 – 1957 Steel; cargo ship 6,640 GRT[6] Foundered in 1957[7] Reported 24/01/1957 in distress in position 25.30S 68.00E, on passage Dairen for Cape Town and Antwerp Built as 'Parisiana' by Irvine's Shipbuilding & Drydocks & Co., West Hartlepool. Renamed from 'Fatakarda' to 'Minocher Cowasjee' in 1955.
SS Fakirjee Cowasjee 1925 1952 – 1967 Steel; cargo ship 5,328 GRT Broken up at Karachi in June 1967 Built as 'Manchester Commerce' by Furness S.B. Company, Haverton Hill
SS Feronia 1940 1958 – 1970 Steel; cargo ship 5,095 GRT Broken up at Karachi in September 1970 Built as Orient City by Furness SB Company, Haverton Hill
MV Rustom 1953 1961 – 1974 Steel; passenger & cargo liner 9,547 GRT Broken up at Gadani Beach in November 1980 Built as Santa Teresa by Howaldtswerke, Hamburg
MV Ohrmazd 1968 1968 – 1974 Steel; passenger & cargo liner 11,046 GRT Broken up at Gadani[3] Beach, arrived 6 July 1994 Built by Burntisland Shipbuilding Company, Fife, Scotland

Lost ships

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  • Fakira was lost in 1956 in the China Sea.[7]
  • Minocher Cowasjee foundered on 24 January 1957 in the Indian Ocean.[6]

Burntisland Shipbuilding Company

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The penalties imposed on the Burntisland Shipbuilding Company in Scotland for the delays in completion of the Ohrmazd in 1968 proved too much for the Scottish company and caused it to go into liquidation.[8]

Court cases

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The company's agent, M.N. Sidhwa was involved in an income tax court case in August 1962, which was decided against it.[9]

Nationalisation

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During the nationalisation drive of Prime Minister, Zulfikar Ali Bhutto, the company was merged into Pakistan National Shipping Corporation (PNSC). The owners took this nationalisation to court, whereby the Supreme Court of Pakistan ruled in their favour.[10] The Government assessed compensation at Rs. 97.012 million (2008).[10]

See also

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References

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  1. ^ Malik, Iftikhar Ahmed, History of Pakistan Merchant Navy 1947- 2009 Karachi 2010 (privately published) pg 12
  2. ^ a b Syed, Madeeha (2015-03-22). "The original shippers". DAWN.COM. Retrieved 2020-11-17.
  3. ^ a b Ohrmazd Burntisland Shipyard. Retrieved 07 March 2011
  4. ^ Malik, Iftikhar Ahmed, History of Pakistan Merchant Navy 1947- 2009 Karachi 2010 (privately published) pg 16
  5. ^ Malik, Iftikhar Ahmed, History of Pakistan Merchant Navy 1947–2009 Karachi 2010 (privately published) pg 15
  6. ^ a b Allen, Tony (2010-04-11). "SS Minocher Cowasjee (+1957)". The Wreck Site. The Wreck Site. Retrieved 2011-06-16.
  7. ^ a b Malik, Iftikhar Ahmed, History of Pakistan Merchant Navy 1947–2009 Karachi 2010 (privately published) pg 14
  8. ^ Shipyard Burntisland Shipyard. Retrieved 7 March 2011
  9. ^ MN Sidhwa vs Income tax Commissioner, 1962 Indian Law Retrieved 7 March 2011
  10. ^ a b Annual Accounts for 2009 Archived 2011-07-22 at the Wayback Machine PNSC Retrieved 7 March 2011

Further reading

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  • Malik, Iftikhar Ahmed, "History of Pakistan Merchant Navy 1947- 2009" Karachi 2010 (privately published)
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