TODAY IS NATIONAL MARITIME DAY IN INDIA, APRIL 5, 2025
TODAY IS NATIONAL MARITIME DAY IN INDIA
APRIL 5, 2025
“Bridging the gap between the present day shipping industry and its glorious and predominantly forgotten past is critical to preserving our national and international heritage. By telling the complete story, we will safeguard its historical integration into the national and international mosaics of heritage and culture. It will also educate members of the international community on the vital contributions made by the modern trade-and-travel-by-sea to international security, defence, and to the global economy.”
– Stéphane Ouellette, President and CEO, MNCTP (2025)
“I would like to take this opportunity to express my heartfelt gratitude for over a decade of support excellence that the Republic of India has provided to our Canadian and Allied Merchant Navy.” “It was on Friday, September 2, 2005, when Her Excellency Shyamala Cowsik, along with other world representatives, attended the Merchant Navy Veterans Day event, and participated in our sacred wreath laying ceremony, at the National War Memorial in Ottawa.
“Canada and India have longstanding bilateral relations that are built upon shared traditions of democracy, pluralism, and strong interpersonal connections. With an aim to empowering our two nations democratically, and with an Indian diaspora of more than one million across Canada, I am hoping that we will seize such opportunities to unite our people coast-to-coast, and overseas, through a common understanding of our history.” – Mr. Stéphane Ouellette, President and CEO, MNCTP
– Mr. Stéphane Ouellette, President and CEO, MNCTP (2016)
OTTAWA, TODAY– Mr. Stéphane Ouellette, President and Chief Executive Officer, Merchant Navy Commemorative Theme Project (MNCTP), observed National Maritime Day in India.
National Maritime Day in India is celebrated every April 5 to promote safe and environmentally sound intercontinental commerce. This day also focuses on defending and preserving the maritime zone of India.
The first Indian National Maritime Day was celebrated on April 5, 1964. This was to mark the maiden voyage of the merchant vessel S.S. Loyalty that sailed from Mumbai to London, on April 5, 1919. The S.S. Loyalty was the first ship of The Scindia Steam Navigation Company Ltd, and the first Indian flagged merchant vessel to journey to the United Kingdom. The S.S. Loyalty paved the way for the creation of the Indian national shipping company named The Shipping Corporation of India.
The S.S. Loyalty, formerly the Empress of India, was built by Naval Construction & Armament Co. at Barrow, England. She was launched on August 30, 1890, by Lady Louisa Caroline Egerton. The 5,905-ton vessel had a length of 455.6 feet, her beam was 51.2 feet, and she had an average speed of 16-knots. The ship was designed to provide accommodation for 770 passengers. On August 17, 1903, the Empress of India collided with and sank the Chinese cruiser Huang Tai. The vessel was reported sold on December 19, 1914, and was re-fitted as a hospital ship for Indian troops. On January 19, 1915, the ship was renamed the S.S. Loyalty. In February 1923, the ship was sold for scrapping at Bombay.
At around the time that the first Maritime Flag was pinned on Prime Minister Shri Narendra Modi’s lapel (as per the photo above), Union Minister, Shri Sarbananda Sonowal noted that the National Maritime Day celebrates the glorious history of India’s maritime tradition.
HISTORIC ATTENDANCE OF FOREIGN REPRESENTATIVES HONORING ALLIED MERCHANT NAVY AND AMERICAN MERCHANT MARINE VETERANS
NATIONAL WAR MEMORIAL
OTTAWA, ONTARIO, CANADA
SEPTEMBER 2, 2005
At the National War Memorial in Ottawa, on September 2, 2005, the Merchant Navy Veterans Day of Remembrance welcomed distinguished foreign representatives to pay tribute to the unsung heroes of the Allied Merchant Navy and American Merchant Marine. Among the attendees (from left) was Her Excellency Shyamala Cowsik, High Commissioner of India, alongside members of the diplomatic corps, highlighting the historic global recognition of the sacrifices and contributions of these courageous veterans.
VICE-ADMIRAL BIMAL VERMA
HIGH COMMISSIONER TO INDIA
(FORMER CHIEF OF THE NAVAL STAFF)
MERCHANT NAVY VETERANS DAY ACKNOWLEDGEMENT
AUGUST 16, 2013
A MESSAGE OF GRATITUDE TO THE REPUBLIC OF INDIA ON
NATIONAL MARITIME DAY
APRIL 5, 2016
OTTAWA, TODAY– Mr. Stéphane Ouellette, President and Chief Executive Officer, Merchant Navy Commemorative Theme Project (MNCTP), publicly thanked the Republic of India for over a decade of support excellence in acknowledging and commemorating the sacrifices and contributions made by Canadian, Allied Merchant Navy, and American Merchant Marine Veterans.
Mr. Ouellette also provided his best wishes for India’s National Maritime Day that took place April 5, 2016. It was on the historic date of April 5, 1919, when the first Indian Vessel S.S. Loyalty sailed from Mumbai to London.
This was the first time in Canadian history that such levels of national and international recognition were achieved for our forgotten heroes of the Allied Merchant Navies, which has now grown to include the American Merchant Marine. Other notable attendees were: the Apostolic Nunciature in Canada, the Australian High Commission, the British High Commission, the Embassy of the People's Republic of China, the Embassy of France, the Embassy of Iceland, the Embassy of Ireland, Embassy of the Kingdom of the Netherlands, the New Zealand High Commission, and the Embassy of the United States of America.
The Merchant Navy Commemorative Theme Project (MNCTP) is a "Canadian driven" initiative dedicated to educating Canadians and the international community about the sacrifices and contributions made by Allied Merchant Navies and the American Merchant Marine as the mainstay of the Allied Forces victories in both World War I and World War II. Critical to preserving our national and international mosaics of heritage and culture, the MNCTP aims to bridge the gap between the present day shipping industry and its glorious and predominantly forgotten past.
In this way, one of the MNCTP’s strategic objectives is to educate Canadians and members of the international community on the vital contributions made by the modern trade-and travel-by-sea to international security and to the global economy. During World War II, over 6,835 American Merchant Marine were killed, in addition to over 11,000 being wounded, and the taking of 604 prisoners of war, of whom 61 died in POW camps, out of the more than 250,000 Merchant Marine that sailed. Over 2,199 Canadian Merchant Navy Seaman were killed in both WWI and WWII. The American and Canadian death statistics do not reflect global losses that were experienced by other Merchant Marine and Allied Merchant Navy countries.
Media Gallery
S.S. LOYALTY - THE STORY OF INDIA'S FIRST SWADESHI SHIP
Associated Links
- S.S. Loyalty - The Story of India's First Swadeshi Ship
- Marine History of India
- United Nations - International Maritime Organization (IMO): World Maritime Day | MNCTP | September 29, 2016 |
- A Message of Gratitude to the People’s Republic of China on their National Maritime Day | MNCTP | July 11, 2016 |
- United Nations - International Maritime Organization (IMO): Observance Day of the Seafarer | MNCTP | June 25, 2016 |
- A Message of Gratitude to the People of the United States of America on their National Maritime Day | MNCTP | May 22, 2016 |
- A Message of Gratitude to the Republic of India on their National Maritime Day | MNCTP | April 5, 2016 |
- Admiral (Ret’d) Nirmal Verma, former High Commissioner of India to Canada, and former Chief of the Naval Staff – Response to Merchant Navy Day (Ottawa) Invitation Letter | August 16, 2013 |
- Allied Merchant Navy Website – India Landing Page
Contact Info
Merchant Navy Commemorative Theme Project (MNCTP)
Stéphane Ouellette President and CEO
E-mail: ouellettes@rogers.com
Website: www.alliedmerchantnavy.com
