East & West Steamship Company was one of the oldest locally owned shipping line

Shipping line

-History of shipping lines:Large-scale shipping lines became widespread in the nineteenth century, after the development of the steamship in 1783. At first, Great Britain was the centr of development; in 1819, the first steamship crossing of the Atlantic Ocean took place and by 1833, shipping lines...

 in Pakistan

Pakistan

Pakistan , officially the Islamic Republic of Pakistan is a sovereign state in South Asia. It has a coastline along the Arabian Sea and the Gulf of Oman in the south and is bordered by Afghanistan and Iran in the west, India in the east and China in the far northeast. In the north, Tajikistan...

 until it was nationalised in 1974. Its ship, was the first ship ever registered at the newly established Port of Registry at Karachi

Karachi

Karachi is the largest city, main seaport and the main financial centre of Pakistan, as well as the capital of the province of Sindh. The city has an estimated population of 13 to 15 million, while the total metropolitan area has a population of over 18 million...

 in August 1948. It was owned by the Cowasjee family

Cowasjee family

The Cowasjee family is one of the oldest families settled in Karachi, Sindh, Pakistan. They own the Cowasjee Group, the oldest shipping company in Pakistan, established in 1883. Ardeshir Cowasjee is the chairman of the group and patriarch of the family. The Cowasjees are a Parsi Zoroastrian...

. The company was resructured 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.

• Ardeshir Cowasjee
  Ardeshir Cowasjee
  Ardeshir Cowasjee is a renowned newspaper columnist from Karachi, Sindh in Pakistan. His columns regularly appear in the country's oldest English newspaper Dawn. Recently a new blog has been started with the view of accumulating the bulk of ardeshir's articles...
  
  

Agents

The company served as agents for Nippon Yusen Kaisha, Tokyo

Tokyo

, ; officially , is one of the 47 prefectures of Japan. Tokyo is the capital of Japan, the center of the Greater Tokyo Area, and the largest metropolitan area of Japan. It is the seat of the Japanese government and the Imperial Palace, and the home of the Japanese Imperial Family...

, Japan

Japan

Japan is an island nation in East Asia. Located in the Pacific Ocean, it lies to the east of the Sea of Japan, China, North Korea, South Korea and Russia, stretching from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north to the East China Sea and Taiwan in the south...

 and The Great Eastern Shipping Company Limited of Bombay (now Mumbai

Mumbai

Mumbai , formerly known as Bombay in English, is the capital of the Indian state of Maharashtra. It is the most populous city in India, and the fourth most populous city in the world, with a total metropolitan area population of approximately 20.5 million...

), India.

Ships

Ship	Built	In service for Company	Type	Tonnage	Reference	Fate	Notes
	1942	1948 - 1956	Steel Steel Steel is an alloy that consists mostly of iron and has a carbon content between 0.2% and 2.1% by weight, depending on the grade. Carbon is the most common alloying material for iron, but various other alloying elements are used, such as manganese, chromium, vanadium, and tungsten... ; cargo ship Cargo ship A cargo ship or freighter is any sort of ship or vessel that carries cargo, goods, and materials from one port to another. Thousands of cargo carriers ply the world's seas and oceans each year; they handle the bulk of international trade...	671 GRT Gross Register Tonnage Gross register tonnage a ship's total internal volume expressed in "register tons", one of which equals to a volume of . It is calculated from the total permanently enclosed capacity of the vessel. The ship's net register tonnage is obtained by reducing the volume of non-revenue-earning spaces i.e...		Broken up in March 1962	Built as H.M.I.S. 'Shillong' (naval trawler) by Burn & Co. Ltd., Calcutta, converted in 1948
	1943	1948 - post 1959	Steel Steel Steel is an alloy that consists mostly of iron and has a carbon content between 0.2% and 2.1% by weight, depending on the grade. Carbon is the most common alloying material for iron, but various other alloying elements are used, such as manganese, chromium, vanadium, and tungsten... ; cargo ship Cargo ship A cargo ship or freighter is any sort of ship or vessel that carries cargo, goods, and materials from one port to another. Thousands of cargo carriers ply the world's seas and oceans each year; they handle the bulk of international trade...	482 GRT Gross Register Tonnage Gross register tonnage a ship's total internal volume expressed in "register tons", one of which equals to a volume of . It is calculated from the total permanently enclosed capacity of the vessel. The ship's net register tonnage is obtained by reducing the volume of non-revenue-earning spaces i.e...			Built as H.M.I.S. 'Cuttack' (naval trawler) by Burn & Co. Ltd., Calcutta, converted in 1949
	1942	1948 - post 1959	Steel Steel Steel is an alloy that consists mostly of iron and has a carbon content between 0.2% and 2.1% by weight, depending on the grade. Carbon is the most common alloying material for iron, but various other alloying elements are used, such as manganese, chromium, vanadium, and tungsten... ; cargo ship Cargo ship A cargo ship or freighter is any sort of ship or vessel that carries cargo, goods, and materials from one port to another. Thousands of cargo carriers ply the world's seas and oceans each year; they handle the bulk of international trade...	467 GRT Gross Register Tonnage Gross register tonnage a ship's total internal volume expressed in "register tons", one of which equals to a volume of . It is calculated from the total permanently enclosed capacity of the vessel. The ship's net register tonnage is obtained by reducing the volume of non-revenue-earning spaces i.e...			Built as H.M.I.S. 'Poona' (naval trawler) by Hooghly Dkg. & Engineering Co. Ltd., Calcutta, converted in 1948
	1942	1948? - post 1959	Steel Steel Steel is an alloy that consists mostly of iron and has a carbon content between 0.2% and 2.1% by weight, depending on the grade. Carbon is the most common alloying material for iron, but various other alloying elements are used, such as manganese, chromium, vanadium, and tungsten... ; cargo ship Cargo ship A cargo ship or freighter is any sort of ship or vessel that carries cargo, goods, and materials from one port to another. Thousands of cargo carriers ply the world's seas and oceans each year; they handle the bulk of international trade...	467 GRT Gross Register Tonnage Gross register tonnage a ship's total internal volume expressed in "register tons", one of which equals to a volume of . It is calculated from the total permanently enclosed capacity of the vessel. The ship's net register tonnage is obtained by reducing the volume of non-revenue-earning spaces i.e...			Built as H.M.I.S. 'Agra' (naval trawler) by Hooghly Dkg. & Engineering Co. Ltd., Calcutta, converted in 1948
	1941	1948? - post 1959	Steel Steel Steel is an alloy that consists mostly of iron and has a carbon content between 0.2% and 2.1% by weight, depending on the grade. Carbon is the most common alloying material for iron, but various other alloying elements are used, such as manganese, chromium, vanadium, and tungsten... ; tug Tug Tuğ is a village in the Khojavend Rayon of Azerbaijan....	471 GRT Gross Register Tonnage Gross register tonnage a ship's total internal volume expressed in "register tons", one of which equals to a volume of . It is calculated from the total permanently enclosed capacity of the vessel. The ship's net register tonnage is obtained by reducing the volume of non-revenue-earning spaces i.e...			Built as H.M.I.S. 'Travancore' (naval trawler) by Garden Reach Workshop Ltd., Calcutta, converted in 1952
	1942	1948 - post 1959	Steel Steel Steel is an alloy that consists mostly of iron and has a carbon content between 0.2% and 2.1% by weight, depending on the grade. Carbon is the most common alloying material for iron, but various other alloying elements are used, such as manganese, chromium, vanadium, and tungsten... ; tug Tug Tuğ is a village in the Khojavend Rayon of Azerbaijan....	445 GRT Gross Register Tonnage Gross register tonnage a ship's total internal volume expressed in "register tons", one of which equals to a volume of . It is calculated from the total permanently enclosed capacity of the vessel. The ship's net register tonnage is obtained by reducing the volume of non-revenue-earning spaces i.e...			Built as H.M.I.S. 'Karachi' (naval trawler) by Alcock, Ashdwon & Co. Ltd., Bombay, converted in 1949
	1913	1947 - 1966	Steel Steel Steel is an alloy that consists mostly of iron and has a carbon content between 0.2% and 2.1% by weight, depending on the grade. Carbon is the most common alloying material for iron, but various other alloying elements are used, such as manganese, chromium, vanadium, and tungsten... ; cargo ship Cargo ship A cargo ship or freighter is any sort of ship or vessel that carries cargo, goods, and materials from one port to another. Thousands of cargo carriers ply the world's seas and oceans each year; they handle the bulk of international trade...	4279 GRT Gross Register Tonnage Gross register tonnage a ship's total internal volume expressed in "register tons", one of which equals to a volume of . It is calculated from the total permanently enclosed capacity of the vessel. The ship's net register tonnage is obtained by reducing the volume of non-revenue-earning spaces i.e...		Broken up at Karachi in October 1966	Built as 'Falls City' by Ropner & Co. Ltd., Stockton-on-Tees
	1923	1949 - 1963	Steel Steel Steel is an alloy that consists mostly of iron and has a carbon content between 0.2% and 2.1% by weight, depending on the grade. Carbon is the most common alloying material for iron, but various other alloying elements are used, such as manganese, chromium, vanadium, and tungsten... ; cargo ship Cargo ship A cargo ship or freighter is any sort of ship or vessel that carries cargo, goods, and materials from one port to another. Thousands of cargo carriers ply the world's seas and oceans each year; they handle the bulk of international trade...	7938 GRT Gross Register Tonnage Gross register tonnage a ship's total internal volume expressed in "register tons", one of which equals to a volume of . It is calculated from the total permanently enclosed capacity of the vessel. The ship's net register tonnage is obtained by reducing the volume of non-revenue-earning spaces i.e...		Broken up at Karachi in April 1963	Built as 'London Importer' by Furness S.B. Company, Haverton Hill
	1919	1951 - 1960	Steel Steel Steel is an alloy that consists mostly of iron and has a carbon content between 0.2% and 2.1% by weight, depending on the grade. Carbon is the most common alloying material for iron, but various other alloying elements are used, such as manganese, chromium, vanadium, and tungsten... ; cargo ship Cargo ship A cargo ship or freighter is any sort of ship or vessel that carries cargo, goods, and materials from one port to another. Thousands of cargo carriers ply the world's seas and oceans each year; they handle the bulk of international trade...	6869 GRT Gross Register Tonnage Gross register tonnage a ship's total internal volume expressed in "register tons", one of which equals to a volume of . It is calculated from the total permanently enclosed capacity of the vessel. The ship's net register tonnage is obtained by reducing the volume of non-revenue-earning spaces i.e...		Broken up at Karachi in October 1960	Built as 'Crosskeys' by Skinner & Eddy, Seattle
	1922	1951 - 1963	Steel Steel Steel is an alloy that consists mostly of iron and has a carbon content between 0.2% and 2.1% by weight, depending on the grade. Carbon is the most common alloying material for iron, but various other alloying elements are used, such as manganese, chromium, vanadium, and tungsten... ; cargo ship Cargo ship A cargo ship or freighter is any sort of ship or vessel that carries cargo, goods, and materials from one port to another. Thousands of cargo carriers ply the world's seas and oceans each year; they handle the bulk of international trade...	5055 GRT Gross Register Tonnage Gross register tonnage a ship's total internal volume expressed in "register tons", one of which equals to a volume of . It is calculated from the total permanently enclosed capacity of the vessel. The ship's net register tonnage is obtained by reducing the volume of non-revenue-earning spaces i.e...		Broken up at Karachi in October 1963	Built as 'Schwarzald' by Deutsche Werft, Tollerort
	1920	1950 - 1957	Steel Steel Steel is an alloy that consists mostly of iron and has a carbon content between 0.2% and 2.1% by weight, depending on the grade. Carbon is the most common alloying material for iron, but various other alloying elements are used, such as manganese, chromium, vanadium, and tungsten... ; cargo ship Cargo ship A cargo ship or freighter is any sort of ship or vessel that carries cargo, goods, and materials from one port to another. Thousands of cargo carriers ply the world's seas and oceans each year; they handle the bulk of international trade...	6,640 GRT		Foundered in 1957 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.
	1925	1952 - 1967	Steel Steel Steel is an alloy that consists mostly of iron and has a carbon content between 0.2% and 2.1% by weight, depending on the grade. Carbon is the most common alloying material for iron, but various other alloying elements are used, such as manganese, chromium, vanadium, and tungsten... ; cargo ship Cargo ship A cargo ship or freighter is any sort of ship or vessel that carries cargo, goods, and materials from one port to another. Thousands of cargo carriers ply the world's seas and oceans each year; they handle the bulk of international trade...	5328 GRT Gross Register Tonnage Gross register tonnage a ship's total internal volume expressed in "register tons", one of which equals to a volume of . It is calculated from the total permanently enclosed capacity of the vessel. The ship's net register tonnage is obtained by reducing the volume of non-revenue-earning spaces i.e...		Broken up at Karachi in June 1967	Built as 'Manchester Commerce' by Furness S.B. Company, Haverton Hill
	1940	1958 - 1970	Steel Steel Steel is an alloy that consists mostly of iron and has a carbon content between 0.2% and 2.1% by weight, depending on the grade. Carbon is the most common alloying material for iron, but various other alloying elements are used, such as manganese, chromium, vanadium, and tungsten... ; cargo ship Cargo ship A cargo ship or freighter is any sort of ship or vessel that carries cargo, goods, and materials from one port to another. Thousands of cargo carriers ply the world's seas and oceans each year; they handle the bulk of international trade...	5095 GRT Gross Register Tonnage Gross register tonnage a ship's total internal volume expressed in "register tons", one of which equals to a volume of . It is calculated from the total permanently enclosed capacity of the vessel. The ship's net register tonnage is obtained by reducing the volume of non-revenue-earning spaces i.e...		Broken up at Karachi in September 1970	Built as 'Orient City' by Furness S.B. Company, Haverton Hill
	1953	1961 - 1974	Steel; passenger & cargo liner Cargo liner A Cargo liner is a type of merchant ship which carried general cargo and often passengers. They became common just after the middle of the nineteenth century, and eventually gave way to container ships and other more specialized carriers in the latter half of the twentieth...	9547 GRT Gross Register Tonnage Gross register tonnage a ship's total internal volume expressed in "register tons", one of which equals to a volume of . It is calculated from the total permanently enclosed capacity of the vessel. The ship's net register tonnage is obtained by reducing the volume of non-revenue-earning spaces i.e...		Broken up at Gadani Beach in November 1980	Built as 'Santa Teresa' by Howaldtswerke, Hamburg
	1968	1968 - 1974	Steel; passenger & cargo liner Cargo liner A Cargo liner is a type of merchant ship which carried general cargo and often passengers. They became common just after the middle of the nineteenth century, and eventually gave way to container ships and other more specialized carriers in the latter half of the twentieth...	11,046 GRT		Broken up at Gadani Gadani Gadani is a coastal village of Lasbela District located in the southern part of Balochistan along the Arabian Sea, Pakistan. It is also a Union Council of Hub Tehsil and is just a 1 hour drive away from Karachi, Sindh. The population of Gadani was estimated to be around 10,000 in 2005. More than...  Beach, arrived 6 July 1994	Built by Burntisland Shipbuilding Company, Fife, Scotland

Lost ships

• Fakira was lost in 1956 in the China Sea.
• Minocher Cowasjee foundered on 24th January 1957 in the Indian Ocean.

Burntisland Shipbuilding Company

The penalties imposed on the Burntisland Shipbuilding Company

Burntisland Shipbuilding Company

The Burntisland Shipbuilding Company was a shibuilder and repairer in Burntisland, Fife, Scotland that traded from 1918 until 1969.-Founding and early years:...

 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.

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.

Nationalisation

During the nationalisation drive of Prime Minister

Prime Minister of Pakistan

The Prime Minister of Pakistan , is the Head of Government of Pakistan who is designated to exercise as the country's Chief Executive. By the Constitution of Pakistan, Pakistan has the parliamentary democratic system of government...

, Zulfikar Ali Bhutto

Zulfikar Ali Bhutto

Zulfikar Ali Bhutto was 9th Prime Minister of Pakistan from 1973 to 1977, and prior to that, 4th President of Pakistan from 1971 to 1973. Bhutto was the founder of the Pakistan Peoples Party — the largest and most influential political party in Pakistan— and served as its chairman until his...

, the company was merged into Pakistan National Shipping Corporation

Pakistan National Shipping Corporation

The Pakistan National Shipping Corporation is an autonomous megacorporation owned and run under the control of the Ministry of Ports and Shipping of Pakistan.-History:...

 (PNSC). The owners took this nationalisation to court, whereby the Supreme Court of Pakistan

Supreme Court of Pakistan

The Supreme Court is the apex court in Pakistan's judicial hierarchy, the final arbiter of legal and constitutional disputes. The Supreme Court has a permanent seat in Islamabad. It has number of Branch Registries where cases are heard. It has a number of de jure powers which are outlined in the...

ruled in their favour. The Government assessed compensation at Rs. 97.012 million (2008).

Further reading

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