Naval Dockyard (Mumbai)

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The Naval Dockyard is one of the oldest establishments in the city of Mumbai, India. It was established in 1753, when the city was composed of seven islands. It was originally founded to build ships for the British East India Company. Presently, the Indian navy operates the dockyard and is used to repair and maintain its ships. The dockyard has at least five fully operational dry docks.

The Dockyard is a part of the city's heritage zone with an array of beautiful buildings dating back to the colonial era. One of the most striking monuments in the dockyard is the clock tower which is as old as the dockyard itself. The present clock is manufactured by Lund and Blockley (L & B) and was fitted in 1904 and has three dials facing north, south and west. The dockyard was the main sea gateway to the city till the Gateway of India was created in 1911, and has seen the likes of Robert Clive, Horatio Nelson and the Duke of Wellington pass through its hallowed gates.

One of the premiere shipbuilding centres in the eighteenth century, the naval dockyard has to its credit built the very ship on which the American national anthem The Star Spangled Banner was composed. Most shipbuilding operations are now further north in the Mazagaon Docks.