Britain's representation in the
East Indies was dominated by the
English East India Company formed in 1600. The company created its own navy as early as 1613 and became known as the East India Marine and equipment for building ships at
Bombay was sent directly from England. The development in the administrative structure was notable for the combination of shore and ship establishments. In 1742 a post of Superintendent of the Bombay Marine was created along with a Commodore, Bombay Marine and seven other commanders. The superintendent controlled the dockyard with the commodore reporting to him, a purser of the marine being in charge of accounts, a master builder, and storekeeper in charge of their departments. Additionally in 1742 a
Bombay Marine Board was established to administer the dockyard consisting of the superintendent, the commodore and two senior captains as the facilities customers, and the superintendent’s deputy, the master attendant. In the first decade of the 19th century the
Department of Admiralty in London gradually took over responsibility for the yard, and day to administration of the yard passed from the superintendent to the
Navy Boards,
Resident Commissioner, Bombay, who continued working with the
Wadia family as Master Shipwrights. There was much construction on the site around this time. Duncan Dock, which was the largest dry dock outside Europe at the time, was constructed in 1807–1810, and remains in use today. The main Dockyard building, which fronts onto Shahid Bhagat Singh Road, dates from 1807, as does the administration block. In 1832 the Navy Board was abolished and responsibility for the management of the yard passed to the
Board of Admiralty. The nearby
Great Western Building (formerly Admiralty House) had housed the
Port Admiral from around 1764–1792. ==Administration of the Dockyard==