National Maritime Day is being observed on April 5.
- It is on this day (5th April) in 1919 when Indian shipping embarked on its maiden voyage as India’s first merchant vessel, the SS Loyalty, journeyed from Mumbai to London.
- In India, more than 90 percent of the goods of a country’s trade are moved through maritime transport.
- The number of vessels in the Indian Shipping Register has increased from a paltry 59 in the year 1947 to an impressive 1,392 ships in 2019, with the gross tonnage rising commensurately to over 12 million GRT.
