The Pakistan National Shipping Corporation (PNSC) is a Pakistani national flag carrier headquartered in

Karachi Karachi is the capital city of the Administrative units of Pakistan, province of Sindh, Pakistan. It is the List of cities in Pakistan by population, largest city in Pakistan and 12th List of largest cities, largest in the world, with a popul ...

. The corporation is principally engaged in the business of shipping, including charter of vessels, transportation of cargo and providing commercial, technical, administrative, financial and other services to its subsidiaries and third parties. The Chairman of PNSC is appointed by the

Prime Minister of Pakistan The prime minister of Pakistan (, Roman Urdu, romanized: Wazīr ē Aʿẓam , ) is the head of government of the Islamic Republic of Pakistan. Executive authority is vested in the prime minister and his chosen Cabinet of Pakistan, cabinet, desp ...

and is usually a high-ranking civil servant or naval admiral. Officers who have served as Chairman PNSC include

Pakistan Administrative Service The Pakistan Administrative Service, or PAS () (previously known as the District Management Group or DMG before 1 June 2012) is an elite cadre of the Civil Services of Pakistan. The Pakistan Administrative Service over the years has emerged as ...

bureaucrats Rizwan Ahmed and Shakeel Ahmed Mangnejo, Admiral Tauqir Hussain Naqvi, Admiral Yastur-ul-Haq Malik, Admiral Saeed Mohammad Khan and Admiral

Mansurul Haq Mansurul Haq (16 October 1937 – 21 February 2018) was a senior officer of the Pakistan Navy who was forcibly retired from his service in 1997 on the allegations leveled against him in the corruption and kickbacks resulting during the technol ...

. PNSC, headquartered in

, is under the administrative control of the Federal Ministry of Maritime Affairs. A regional office based in

Lahore Lahore ( ; ; ) is the capital and largest city of the Administrative units of Pakistan, Pakistani province of Punjab, Pakistan, Punjab. It is the List of cities in Pakistan by population, second-largest city in Pakistan, after Karachi, and ...

caters to upcountry shipping requirements. The corporation also has an extensive overseas network of agents looking after its worldwide shipping business. The Pakistan Merchant Navy is the fleet of state-owned

merchant vessel A merchant ship, merchant vessel, trading vessel, or merchantman is a watercraft that transports cargo or carries passengers for hire. This is in contrast to pleasure craft, which are used for personal recreation, and naval ships, which a ...

s flying the flag of Pakistan National Shipping Corporation.

History

The Pakistan Merchant Navy was formed after independence in 1947 when Pakistan inherited a fleet of four privately owned cargo ships. The Ministry of Maritime Affairs, Mercantile Marine Department and

Government Shipping Office The Government Shipping Office () is an agency in the Government of Pakistan that registers and manages sailors in the Pakistan Merchant Navy. The Government Shipping Office was first established in 1923 under the Merchant Shipping Act. It was a s ...

established by the Government of Pakistan were authorised to flag the ships and also ensured that the vessels were seaworthy. In 1963, the National Shipping Ordinance was promulgated and National Shipping Corporation (NSC) was established which procured its first used ship, M.V. Rupsa in 1965. The national fleet comprised some 53 vessels which were owned by 10 private shipping companies. The national fleet grew to 71 vessels before the separation of

East Pakistan East Pakistan was the eastern province of Pakistan between 1955 and 1971, restructured and renamed from the province of East Bengal and covering the territory of the modern country of Bangladesh. Its land borders were with India and Burma, wit ...

and its emergence as Bangladesh in 1971 when the number declined to 57 vessels after the separation. On 1 January 1974, President of Pakistan

Zulfiqar Ali Bhutto Zulfikar Ali Bhutto (5 January 1928 – 4 April 1979) was a Pakistani barrister and politician who served as the fourth president of Pakistan from 1971 to 1973 and later as the ninth Prime Minister of Pakistan, prime minister of Pakistan from 19 ...

nationalised Chittagong Steamship Corporation and Trans-Oceanic Steamship Company, owned by Dinshaw family; East & West Steamship Company, owned by Cowasjee family; Muhammadi Steamship Company Limited and Gulf Shipping Corp Ltd, owned by Valika family; United Oriental Steamship Company, owned by Chinioti Buksh family; Pan Islamic Shipping, owned by Saudis; Crescent Shipping, owned by Crescent Group; and National Shipping Corporation (NSC). Nine private shipping companies with a total of 26 ships were nationalised. The national fleet strength increased to 51 vessels including 26 ships under the management of nine nationalised companies and 25 ships with the state-owned NSC. In 1977, 14 ships were inducted in the Pakistan Shipping Corporation (PSC) during the Fifth Five-Year Plan. Two years later, NSC and PSC were merged to form the Pakistan National Shipping Corporation (PNSC) which still remains the sole state-owned shipping corporation. Later other nationalised companies were also merged into a single company as the Pakistan National Shipping Corporation, incorporated under the provisions of the Pakistan National Shipping Corporation Ordinance of 1979 and the Companies Ordinance of 1984, respectively. The total fleet strength increased to 60 ships with the induction of 14 vessels in the late 1970s and early 1980s. PNSC enjoyed a complete monopoly till the early 1990s when the shipping sector was deregulated by the

Nawaz Sharif Mian Muhammad Nawaz Sharif (born 25 December 1949) is a Pakistani politician and businessman who served as the 12th Prime Minister of Pakistan, prime minister of Pakistan for three non-consecutive terms, first serving from 1990 to 1993, then ...

government.

Subsidiaries

* Bolan Shipping (Private) Limited * Chitral Shipping (Private) Limited * Hyderabad Shipping (Private) Limited * Khairpur Shipping (Private) Limited * Malakand Shipping (Private) Limited * Multan Shipping (Private) Limited * Sibi Shipping (Private) Limited * Karachi Shipping (Private) Limited * Lahore Shipping (Private) Limited * Quetta Shipping (Private) Limited * Shalamar Shipping (Private) Limited

Former company titles

Muhammadi Steamship Company Limited was incorporated on 12 May 1947. In 1949, it became the first Pakistani shipping line to be publicly listed on the

Karachi Stock Exchange The Pakistan Stock Exchange (PSX), founded as Karachi Stock Exchange (KSE), is a stock exchange based in Karachi, Pakistan. PSX was classified by MSCI as a Frontier markets, frontier market on 8 September 2021. Pakistan Stock Exchange was fou ...

.Malik, Iftikhar Ahmed, ''History of Pakistan Merchant Navy 1947- 2009'' Karachi 2010 (privately published) pg 6 Muhammadi House on McLeod Road (now I. I. Chundrigar Road) was the

headquarter Headquarters (often referred to as HQ) notes the location where most or all of the important functions of an organization are coordinated. The term is used in a wide variety of situations, including private sector corporations, non-profits, mil ...

s of the company.Malik, Iftikhar Ahmed, ''History of Pakistan Merchant Navy 1947- 2009'' Karachi 2010 (privately published) pg 7 The company was nationalised by the

Government of Pakistan The Government of Pakistan () (abbreviated as GoP), constitutionally known as the Federal Government, commonly known as the Centre, is the national authority of the Islamic Republic of Pakistan, a federal republic located in South Asia, con ...

under then President

Zulfikar Ali Bhutto Zulfikar Ali Bhutto (5 January 1928 – 4 April 1979) was a Pakistani barrister and politician who served as the fourth president of Pakistan from 1971 to 1973 and later as the ninth Prime Minister of Pakistan, prime minister of Pakistan from 19 ...

. It was later merged with other Pakistani nationalised shipping companies to create the Pakistan National Shipping Corporation. East & West Steamship Company was one of the oldest locally owned

shipping line A shipping line or shipping company is a company whose line of business is ownership and operation of ships. Shipping companies provide a method of distinguishing ships by different kinds of cargo: # Bulk cargo is a type of special cargo that is ...

Pakistan Pakistan, officially the Islamic Republic of Pakistan, is a country in South Asia. It is the List of countries and dependencies by population, fifth-most populous country, with a population of over 241.5 million, having the Islam by country# ...

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

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. Ltd.' in 1961 The National Shipping Corporation (NSC) was established under the National Shipping Corporation Ordinance, 1963, with a view to provide efficient shipping services. The corporation was managed by a Board of nine directors, out of which five including the chairman, the managing director and the Financial Director were appointed by the Central Government and remaining four were elected by the shareholders from each Province. The authorized capital of the corporation was Rs. 250 million and the subscribed capital was to be Rs. 50 million. The share of Central Government in the capital was 25% and the balance of 75% was raised from the public in East and West Pakistan on the basis of parity. In 1974 the Federal Government decided to take over the management and control of entire shipping in

, including NSC through promulgation of the Pakistan Maritime Shipping (Regulation and control) Ordinance, 1974 which later on became an Act. In September, 1976 the Federal Government established the Pakistan Shipping Corporation (PSC) under the Pakistan Shipping Corporation Act, 1976, to take charge of ten shipping companies and operate as a parallel corporation with the National Shipping Corporation (NSC).

Fleet

Merchant Navy Rank Insignia of Deck Officers and Engineer Officers

image:Engine Cadet Shoulder Insignia.png, Shoulder rank insignia of a Deck Cadet or Engine Cadet image:Junior engineer shoulder rank insignia.png, Shoulder rank insignia of

Petty Officer A petty officer (PO) is a non-commissioned officer in many navies. Often they may be superior to a seaman, and subordinate to more senior non-commissioned officers, such as chief petty officers. Petty officers are usually sailors that have ...

or Junior Engineer image:GR_mercantile_marine_Acting_Sub_Lieutenant.svg, Shoulder rank insignia of 3rd Officer or 4th Engineer image:GR_mercantile_marine_Sub_Lieutenant.svg, Shoulder rank insignia of 2nd Officer or 3rd Engineer image:GR_mercantile_marine_Lieutenant.svg, Shoulder rank insignia of a Chief Officer or 2nd Engineer image:GR_mercantile_marine_Commander.svg, Shoulder rank insignia of a Captain or Chief Engineer

References

External links

*
Pakistan Marine Academy

Mercantile Marine Department

Government Shipping Office
{{authority control Shipping companies Transport in Pakistan Economy of Pakistan Government-owned companies of Pakistan Companies listed on the Pakistan Stock Exchange Pakistani companies established in 1971 Transport companies established in 1971 Ministry of Maritime Affairs (Pakistan)