The Scindia Steam Navigation Company Ltd.

The Scindia Steam Navigation Company was one of the oldest Indian shipping companies. Founded in 1919, envisioned by Walchand Hirachand, it was a joint venture of Walchand along with Narottam Morarjee, Kilachand Devchand and Lallubhai Samaldas all of them businessman hailing from Gujarat. It played a significant role in Indian independence. It was the first large scale Indian owned shipping company and started an India — Europe service with the Loyalty (ex-RMS Empress of India), but was forced to sign a 10-year agreement with British companies and its shipping route was restricted to the Indian coastal shipping trade for this period.

April 5 marks the National Maritime Day of India. On this day in 1919 navigation history was made when SS Loyalty, the first ship solely owned by Indian people, through The Scindia Steam Navigation Company, Ltd., journeyed to the United Kingdom. This was a crucial step for Indian shipping history as sea routes were controlled by the British. The National Maritime Day was first celebrated on April 5, 1964 remembering this historic day and event, saluting the indefatigable spirit of Indian entrepreneurs, who with-stood monopolistic policy of British government to launch a Ship, wholly owned by Indian management.

In 1919, after the end of the First World War, Walchand Hirachand, with several of his friends, bought the SS ''Loyalty'' from the Scindias of Gwalior. The vessel was originally the RMS Empress of India (1891) bought from the Canadian Pacific Railway and paid for by the Maharaja of Gwalior as a hospital ship for Indian troops in the First World War. Hirachand's business premise was that the post-war years would also spell massive growth for the shipping industry just as the war years had done; however, British companies such as Peninsular and Oriental Steam Navigation Company (P&O) and British-India Steam Navigation Company (BISNC) were strong in the shipping industry and this combined with political inertia had caused most of the previous attempts to establish competing Indian companies to fail. Scindia's founders, Narottam Morarjee and Walchand Hirachand, formed the new company to take on the entrenched British interests and create India's own mercantile fleet. Equipped with a ship Walchand named his company The Scindia Steam Navigation Company Ltd. On 5 April 1919 the SS Loyalty sailed to the United Kingdom. This occasion was commemorated with the establishment of a National Maritime Day of India, celebrated for the first time on 5 April 1964, and annually thereafter.

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