HISTORY OF THE T. S. “DUFFERIN”
HISTORY OF THE T. S. “DUFFERIN” The “Dufferin” was originally built as a troop ship for the Royal Indian Marine by M/s. Vickers Son & Maxim at Barrow-in-Furness, England, launched in 14th September 1904 and delivered to the Govt. of India in Bombay on 21st February, 1905. The ship was named after Lord Dufferin, a foemer Viceroy and Governor General of India.
During the World War I, she saw active service as auxiliary cruiser. At the end of the War, she returned to her original duty as a troop career. In June 1925 the “Dufferin” was scheduled to be sold for scrap along with her other two sister troop ships, Hardinge and Northbrook. But the destiny had reserved a more memorable role for the “Dufferin”; that of being the first Maritime Training Institution in India. The passing of a resolution moved in the Central Legislative Assembly by Sir Sivaswamy Aiyar in January 1922 resulted in the appointment of Indian Mercantile Marine Committee. This Committee recommended the establishment of Training Ship in Bombay for the purpose of training Indian boys in marine profession and further recommended that the troopship “Dufferin” be converted for this purpose. The Indian Mercantile Marine Training Ship “Dufferin” thus came into being in November 1927.
The “Dufferin” started her new career on an experimental basis for 3 years and was made into a permanent institution in the year 1930. The duration of the training course was 3 years and the entry qualification was 3 standards below matriculation. The passing certificate of the “Dufferin” was recognized by the Bombay University as equivalent to matriculation certificate.
The first batch of 7out of 30 selected joined the ship in November, 1927. From 1927 till 1934, the “Dufferin” trained only executive cadets. In 1935, the first batch of Engineer Cadets joined the ship.
In the year 1947, India became an independent Sovereign State. Thereafter the Govt. of India took steps to meet the increasing demands for the trained maritime personnel.
The course capacity was increased to 80 cadets per year by reducing course duration to two years and raising the entry qualification to matriculation. In the year 1948, the “Dufferin” was reserved exclusively for Deck Cadets and a separate institution named Directorate Marine Engineering Training (DMET) was set up in Calcutta with a branch in Bombay.
In 1952 the “Dufferin” celebrated Silver Jubilee. A tribute worthy of the great ship was paid by no less a person than the late Prime Minister Jawaharlal Nehru. He said “Looking at the lady in while I see she has stayed remarkably young and fit. I have no doubt that she will have many years of good service and good looks before her”.
With the passage of time, it became clear that the “Dufferin” would not be in a position to meet the increasing demands of the industry. Her capacity could not be increased any more. It was, therefore, decided to replace the training ship with a new one, built to order as a training ship. In due course of time orders for the successor of the “Dufferin” were place with the Hindustan Shipyard Ltd. In April 1972 the “Rajendra” was commissioned and in the same year the “:Dufferin” passed away from the center stage of marine training and became a fond memory in the hearts of all her alumni.
Towards the late 60s it became clear that “Dufferin” would need to be replaced by a new training ship, which will meet enhanced requirements of the industry.
In 1969, orders were placed with the Hindustan Shipyard for the construction of a new training ship to replace the aging “Dufferin” The ship was christened TS Rajendra and launched on 25th April 1971 and was towed to Bombay. On April 15th 1972, at a memorable and moving ceremony, the Dufferin was given a touching farewell and formally decommissioned. A large number of ex-cadets paid handsome and emotional tributes to their alma- mater. By then over 2600 cadets had undergone training on the Dufferin.
Earlier serious efforts were made to convert Dufferin to a maritime museum. However the plan had to be given up due to the prohibitive costs of ‘beaching’ and maintenance. Hence this great ship, which had nurtured a glorious maritime tradition, had to be consigned to a scrapyard. The ship which was purchased for Rs. 1.25 lakhs in 1927, was sold for Rs. 27 lakhs as scrap. With the “Rajendra” staff and cadets accompanying her, she made her final voyage to the shipbreaker’s yard at Darukhana, Bombay on February 2nd 1976.
The Dufferin may not exist today in steel and timber but in the minds of thousands of her ex-cadets and well wishers, “There will always be a Dufferin”.
“CHANAKYA”
The “Chanakya’s” two predecessor training institutions were both ships. It was then largely believed that a large number of Indian boys who may opt for a career in the merchant navy may not have seen either the sea or the ship. A ship as a training institution would be useful in orienting these boys to a life at sea. This objective was fully achieved by the “Dufferin” and the “Rajendra”.
By the time replacement of “Rajendra” was beginning to be considered, India had acquired maritime status and other good reputation achieved by the alumni of the “Dufferin” and “Rajendra”, merchant navy as a career had achieved popularity and aspiring candidates were no stranger to the sea or ships. Further more, while a ship board training institution had the advantages mentioned above it had also certain service disadvantages such as cost of maintenance and inflexibility in capacity expansion.
Therefore opinion veered to the idea that “Rajendra’s” replacement should be a shore based academy.
For the training to be realistic the academy would have to be provided with all facilities that would be available on a ship and in addition, facilities for personality and character development. Large area would be needed for this purpose which could not be had in this old city of Bombay. Cidco was therefore approached and about 16 hectares of land near Nerul was purchased for Rs. 72 lakhs. The plans were approved in 1987 and construction began soon thereafter.
The academy was to have large play fields, swimming pool, garden area, hostel accommodation for 250 cadets with provisions for expanding the capacity by a further 250 capacity; scholastic block housing class rooms, assembly hall, library, laboratories, computer rooms etc.; and other buildings.
On 5th April 1993 the shore based academy was commissioned and named “Chanakya”, after ‘Chanakya’, the great scholar and economist in the Court of the King Chandragupta Maurya and also author of the book ‘Kautilya Artha Shastra’.
Carrying on from where “Rajendra” left of the T. S. “Chankaya” imparts training in two streams; one the three year degree course and the three months short term course for Company sponsored cadets. The 3 months course commenced on 2nd August 1993. Admission to the degree course is through joint entrance examination of the I I T and an interview. 90 cadets are admitted to the degree course per year.
Equipped with the latest ship board equipment and navigational aids and inheriting the time tested traditions of the predecessor Training Ships “Dufferin” and “Rajendra”, the “Chankya” is fully geared to meet the requirements of the shipping industry. With it’s emphasis on character as well as vocational training the alumni of the “Chankaya” will also bring glory and fame to the Alma Mater and the Country.
BRIEF WRITE UP OF T. S. “CHANAKYA”
The organized training of Merchant Navy officers in India started in 1927 when a troopship “Dufferin” was commissioned as Training Ship ‘Dufferin’ at Bombay. It may be noted that from the inception of the Indian Mercantile Marine Training Ship ‘Dufferin’ till December 1948, both the deck and engineering cadets were trained on the “Dufferin” but in 1949, as separate institution called Directorate of Marine Engineering Training (DMET) was formed for the training of marine engineers. Thereafter “Dufferin” gave way to Training Ship “Rajendra” in 1972. After an equally meritorious service of 21 years, the “Rajendra” in 1993 was succeeded by the present shore based training establishment called Training Ship “Chanakya” which is located at Nerul in Navi Mumbai. It is worth mentioning that in 1987, the University of Mumbai granted affiliation to Training Ship “Rajendra” for conducting a three year course in Bsc. (Nautical Science).
At T. S. “Chanakya” the training is imparted in two streams i.e. the 3 year Bsc. Nautical Science and the 3 months pre-sea course. For the degree course the cadets are selected through I I T Joint entrance examination. The intake for the degree cadets is 90 per year.
The degree cadets on completion of their one year of sea service are awarded the second mates competency without appearing for the written examination.
For the 3 months pre-sea course, cadets are directly selected and sponsored by the various shipping companies. The content for the 3 months pre-sea cadets is meant only to familiarize the cadets with the basics of Nautical Sciences. The maximum intake capacity for the 3 months course is 120 cadets per course. There are three courses conducted in a year. The three months pre-sea cadets have to do two years of sea service, after which they are eligible to appear for the second mates competency certificate examination.
“Chanakya” is equipped with latest shipboard equipment and other navigational aids which are found on the ships today, in order to give the cadets a realistic training. To encourage the all round personality of the cadets, it is compulsory for them to participate in extra curricular activities like parade training, boat pulling, swimming and debates. We have a well-equipped library with the latest technical books and publications. The institute is also having various laboratories like seamanship laboratory, physics laboratory, computer laboratory and Marine Engineering and Control System laboratory.