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

Directors

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

Agents

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
ShipBuiltIn service for CompanyTypeTonnageReferenceFateNotes
SS Fatima19421948 - 1956Steel; cargo ship671 GRTBroken up in March 1962[5]Built as H.M.I.S. 'Shillong' (naval trawler) by Burn & Co. Ltd., Calcutta, converted in 1948
SS Figura19431948 - post 1959Steel; cargo ship482 GRTBuilt as H.M.I.S. 'Cuttack' (naval trawler) by Burn & Co. Ltd., Calcutta, converted in 1949
SS Firishta19421948 - post 1959Steel; cargo ship467 GRTBuilt as H.M.I.S. 'Poona' (naval trawler) by Hooghly Dkg. & Engineering Co. Ltd., Calcutta, converted in 1948
SS Fritha19421948? - post 1959Steel; cargo ship467 GRTBuilt as H.M.I.S. 'Agra' (naval trawler) by Hooghly Dkg. & Engineering Co. Ltd., Calcutta, converted in 1948
SS Forma19411948? - post 1959Steel; tug471 GRTBuilt as H.M.I.S. 'Travancore' (naval trawler) by Garden Reach Workshop Ltd., Calcutta, converted in 1952
SS Fravarta19421948 - post 1959Steel; tug445 GRTBuilt as H.M.I.S. 'Karachi' (naval trawler) by Alcock, Ashdwon & Co. Ltd., Bombay, converted in 1949
SS Firoza19131947 - 1966Steel; cargo ship4279 GRTBroken up at Karachi in October 1966Built as 'Falls City' by Ropner & Co. Ltd., Stockton-on-Tees
SS Firdausa19231949 - 1963Steel; cargo ship7938 GRTBroken up at Karachi in April 1963Built as 'London Importer' by Furness S.B. Company, Haverton Hill
SS Futura19191951 - 1960Steel; cargo ship6869 GRTBroken up at Karachi in October 1960Built as 'Crosskeys' by Skinner & Eddy, Seattle
SS Fausta19221951 - 1963Steel; cargo ship5055 GRTBroken up at Karachi in October 1963Built as 'Schwarzald' by Deutsche Werft, Tollerort
SS Fatakarda later Minocher Cowasjee19201950 - 1957Steel; cargo ship6,640 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 AntwerpBuilt as 'Parisiana' by Irvine's Shipbuilding & Drydocks & Co., West Hartlepool. Renamed from 'Fatakarda' to 'Minocher Cowasjee' in 1955.
SS Fakirjee Cowasjee19251952 - 1967Steel; cargo ship5328 GRTBroken up at Karachi in June 1967Built as 'Manchester Commerce' by Furness S.B. Company, Haverton Hill
SS Feronia19401958 - 1970Steel; cargo ship5095 GRTBroken up at Karachi in September 1970Built as 'Orient City' by Furness S.B. Company, Haverton Hill
MV Rustom19531961 - 1974Steel; passenger & cargo liner9547 GRTBroken up at Gadani Beach in November 1980Built as 'Santa Teresa' by Howaldtswerke, Hamburg
MV Ohrmazd19681968 - 1974Steel; passenger & cargo liner11,046 GRTBroken up at Gadani[3] Beach, arrived 6 July 1994Built by Burntisland Shipbuilding Company, Fife, Scotland

Lost ships
  • 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

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

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

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

References
  1. Malik, Iftikhar Ahmed, History of Pakistan Merchant Navy 1947- 2009 Karachi 2010 (privately published) pg 12
  2. Syed, Madeeha (2015-03-22). "The original shippers". DAWN.COM. Retrieved 2020-11-17.
  3. 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. Allen, Tony (2010-04-11). "SS Minocher Cowasjee (+1957)". The Wreck Site. The Wreck Site. Retrieved 2011-06-16.
  7. 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. Annual Accounts for 2009 PNSC Retrieved 7 March 2011

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