View source for 1947 Ramdas ship disaster

{{Short description|Indian passenger ferry that sank in 1947}}
{{Use Indian English|date=January 2016}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=December 2015}}
{{Infobox ship <!-- age of sail -->
|infobox_caption= 1947 ''Ramdas'' ship disaster<!-- keywords: yes, nodab; or caption text -->
|display_title= 1947 ''Ramdas'' ship disaster
|section1={{Infobox ship/image
 |image=
 |image_size= 
 |image_caption=
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|section2={{Infobox ship/career
 |hide_header=
 |country=India
 |flag= {{shipboxflag|British Raj|Name=India}}
 |name= SS ''Ramdas''
 |owner= Indian Cooperative Steam Navigation Company
 |ordered=
 |registry = [[Bombay]]
 |route = [[Bombay]] to [[Rewas]]
 |builder=
 |original_cost=
 |laid_down=
 |launched=1936
 |acquired=
 |commissioned=
 |in_service=
 |struck= 17 July 1947
 |honours=
 |honors=
 |fate= Sank; killing 690 of the people on board
 |notes=
 }}
}}

The '''1947 ''Ramdas'' ship disaster''' occurred near Bombay (now [[Mumbai]]) in India. The Indian [[passenger ship]] SS ''Ramdas'', while bound for [[Rewas]] in [[Maharashtra]], capsized on 17 July 1947,<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://wikimapia.org/1149933/Kashacha-Khadak-Ferry-Ramdas-sank-here-drowning-700-persons|title = Kashacha Khadak (Gull Island) &#124; disaster site}}</ref> near Gull Island (Kashyacha Khadak), ten miles from [[Colaba]] ([[South Mumbai]]) Point, killing 724 of the people on board.

==The disaster==
''Ramdas'' was a coastal [[passenger ferry]] owned by the [[Indian Cooperative Steam Navigation Company]]. It was a [[Twin-screw steamer|twin-screw]] vessel built in 1936 and measured 406 [[tonnage|tons]]. On 17 July 1947, at around 8:05&nbsp;a.m. ([[Indian Standard Time|IST]]), 30 minutes after she left Bombay, and at {{convert|5|mi|km}} Colaba Point, while en route to Rewas, she was caught in violent storms and high seas.<ref>{{cite news |title=669 Die in Ship Disaster |url=https://trove.nla.gov.au/newspaper/article/26402001 |accessdate=12 November 2018 |newspaper=[[The Mercury (Hobart)|The Mercury]] |date=19 July 1947}}</ref> While she was passing the island of Kashyacha Khadak, one of the waves caught her on the [[starboard]] side, resulting in the passengers rushing to the [[Port (nautical)|port]] side and causing her to capsize.<ref>{{cite news|author=|title=Indian steamer disaster: Nearly 700 drowned|url=http://wikimapia.org/1149933/Kashacha-Khadak-Ferry-Ramdas-sank-here-drowning-700-persons|accessdate=18 April 2015|work=Pg 4|agency=The Times|issue=50816|date=18 July 1947}}</ref>

The port authorities knew of the tragedy only when a few of the survivors swam to safety and reached the [[Sassoon Docks]] and broke the news at 3:00&nbsp;p.m. Some of the survivors swam across and reached the northern coast of [[Raigad district|Raigad]] near Rewas. Some people were rescued by fishermen from Rewas.<ref name="interviews">{{cite book|title=Interviews with survivors: "Ramdas Botichya Jalasamadhichi Samay Hakikat" (Marathi)|date=1950|location=Mumbai}}</ref>

Of the 713 passengers on board, 690 died. Most passengers were from the [[Girgaum]] and [[Parel]] areas.<ref>{{Cite news |last=Purandare |first=Vaibhav |date=2022-08-13 |title=India’s Titanic tragedy that killed 700 also marks 75 years |url=https://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/india/indias-titanic-tragedy-that-killed-700-also-marks-75-years/articleshow/93530748.cms |access-date=2025-08-18 |work=The Times of India |issn=0971-8257}}</ref> They were mostly workers from [[Pen, India|Pen]], [[Roha]], and [[Alibag]]. Survivors included the ship's [[Sea captain|captain]], Sheikh Suleman Ibrahim, who later provided the facts of the incident.

==Aftermath==
{{unreferenced section|date=July 2017}}
For the rescue operation mounted by the Rewas (Alibag) fishermen, the Indian government allotted some land and a [[jetty]] to them. The resulting settlement was subsequently called [[Bodni]].<ref name="interviews"/>

The [[Mumbai Port Trust|Bombay Port Trust]] decided to salvage it in August 1951 and the work was entrusted to an Italian firm for a cost of {{INR}}13.8 [[lakh]].<ref>{{cite news |title="Ramdas" to be Salvaged |newspaper=The Indian Express |date=1 September 1951 |page=3}}</ref> However, the wreck resurfaced on its own at [[Ballard Pier]] off the coast at Bombay in 1957.

== References ==
{{Reflist}}

==External links==
{{Portal|India}}
* [https://archive.today/20010424230659/http://www.timesrelieffund.com/ramdasship/ramdas.htm Times Relief Fund]

{{1947 shipwrecks}}

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[[Category:History of Mumbai (1947–present)]]
[[Category:Maritime incidents in India]]
[[Category:Maritime history of India]]
[[Category:Shipwrecks in the Arabian Sea]]
[[Category:Shipwrecks of India]]
[[Category:Maritime incidents in 1947]]
[[Category:Shipping in India]]
[[Category:20th century in Mumbai]]
[[Category:Disasters in Maharashtra]]
[[Category:1947 disasters in India]]


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