East & West Steamship Company () was one of the oldest locally owned shipping line in Pakistan until it was nationalised in 1974. Its ship, was the first ship ever registered at the newly established Port of Registry at Karachi in August 1948.Malik, Iftikhar Ahmed, History of Pakistan Merchant Navy 1947- 2009 Karachi 2010 (privately published) pg 12 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 individuals were directors of the company at one time or another.
Rustom Faqirji Cowasjee Ardeshir CowasjeeOhrmazd Burntisland Shipyard. Retrieved 07 March 2011 Cyrus Cowasjee
Agents The company served as agents for Nippon Yusen Kaisha, Tokyo, Japan and The Great Eastern Shipping Company Limited of Bombay (now Mumbai), India.Malik, Iftikhar Ahmed, History of Pakistan Merchant Navy 1947- 2009 Karachi 2010 (privately published) pg 16
Ships Ship Built In service for Company Type Tonnage Fate Notes 19421948 – 1956 Steel; cargo ship Broken up in March 1962Malik, Iftikhar Ahmed, History of Pakistan Merchant Navy 1947–2009 Karachi 2010 (privately published) pg 15Built as HMIS Shillong (naval trawler) by Burn & Co. Ltd., Calcutta, converted in 1948 19431948 – post 1959 Steel; cargo ship Built as HMIS Cuttack (naval trawler) by Burn & Co. Ltd., Calcutta, converted in 1949 19421948 – post 1959 Steel; cargo ship Built as HMIS Poona (naval trawler) by Hooghly Dkg. & Engineering Co. Ltd., Calcutta, converted in 1948 19421948? – post 1959 Steel; cargo ship Built as HMIS Agra (naval trawler) by Hooghly Dkg. & Engineering Co. Ltd., Calcutta, converted in 1948 19411948? – post 1959 Steel; tug Built as HMIS Travancore (naval trawler) by Garden Reach Workshop Ltd., Calcutta, converted in 1952 19421948 – post 1959Steel; tug Built as HMIS Karachi (naval trawler) by Alcock, Ashdwon & Co. Ltd., Bombay, converted in 1949 19131947 – 1966Steel; cargo ship Broken up at Karachi in October 1966 Built as Falls City by Ropner & Co. Ltd., Stockton-on-Tees 19231949 – 1963Steel; cargo ship Broken up at Karachi in April 1963Built as London Importer by Furness SB Company, Haverton Hill 19191951 – 1960Steel; cargo ship Broken up at Karachi in October 1960Built as Crosskeys by Skinner & Eddy, SeattleSS Fausta 19221951 – 1963Steel; cargo ship Broken up at Karachi in October 1963Built as Schwarzwald by Deutsche Werft, Hamburg 19201950 – 1957 Steel; cargo ship Foundered in 1957 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. 19251952 – 1967Steel; cargo ship Broken up at Karachi in June 1967Built as 'Manchester Commerce' by Furness S.B. Company, Haverton Hill 19401958 – 1970Steel; cargo ship Broken up at Karachi in September 1970Built as Orient City by Furness SB Company, Haverton Hill 19531961 – 1974Steel; passenger & cargo liner Broken up at Gadani Beach in November 1980Built as Santa Teresa by Howaldtswerke, Hamburg 19681968 – 1974 Steel; passenger & cargo liner Broken up at Gadani Beach, arrived 6 July 1994 Built by Burntisland Shipbuilding Company, Fife, Scotland
Lost ships Fakira was lost in 1956 in the China Sea.Malik, Iftikhar Ahmed, History of Pakistan Merchant Navy 1947–2009 Karachi 2010 (privately published) pg 14 Minocher Cowasjee foundered on 24 January 1957 in the Indian Ocean.
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.Shipyard Burntisland Shipyard. Retrieved 7 March 2011
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.MN Sidhwa vs Income tax Commissioner, 1962 Indian Law Retrieved 7 March 2011
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.Annual Accounts for 2009 PNSC Retrieved 7 March 2011 The Government assessed compensation at Rs. 97.012 million (2008).
See also
Cowasjee family Ardeshir Cowasjee Pakistan Merchant Navy
References
Further reading Malik, Iftikhar Ahmed, "History of Pakistan Merchant Navy 1947- 2009" Karachi 2010 (privately published)
External links The Ohrmazd