Ebrahim Shaik Baba Bhombal was a Pakistani

civil servant The civil service is a collective term for a sector of government composed mainly of career civil servants hired on professional merit rather than appointed or elected, whose institutional tenure typically survives transitions of political leaders ...

and master mariner who was the first native Indian harbor pilot in British India. An officer in the British Merchant Navy, he was appointed Pilot by the Karachi Port Trust in 1931. During World War II he was commissioned by the Royal Indian Navy and worked as

Dock Master A dockmaster is a person in charge of a dock used for freight, logistics, and repair or maintenance of ships (a shipyard or drydock). This title is distinct from harbormaster, which is sometimes a higher rank than dockmaster. A dockmaster is as ...

in Karachi, where after the war he was made Harbour Master. In 1949 the Government of Pakistan requisitioned his services for the development and expansion of

Chittagong Port The Chittagong Port ( bn, চট্টগ্রাম বন্দর) is the main seaport of Bangladesh. Located in Bangladesh's port city of Chittagong and on the banks of the Karnaphuli River, the port handles over 90 percent of Bangladesh's ...

in East Bengal (later East Pakistan, now Bangladesh). In 1950 he was responsible for organizing and overseeing the establishment of a second port in East Bengal, at Chalna. Chalna Port would be Pakistan's third port, and the first to be established after the country's independence. Bhombal subsequently served as Port Director and Conservator at Chalna. Bhombal obtained his training in the Royal Indian Marine, after which he obtained his Foreign-going Second Mate Certificate. In 1929 he obtained his Foreign-going Master Certificate in the United Kingdom. He joined the British Merchant Navy and within a short while reached the rank of

Chief Officer A chief mate (C/M) or chief officer, usually also synonymous with the first mate or first officer, is a licensed mariner and head of the deck department of a merchant ship. The chief mate is customarily a watchstander and is in charge of the ship ...

and then Master of the Vessel. He possessed a British Extra Master Certificate.

Assignments at Karachi Port

In 1931 Bhombal was appointed by the Karachi Port Trust in what was reported to be the first appointment in India of an Indian pilot. Being the only Indian among applicants for the post, his application was the subject of much discussion among members of the Trust. After being considered at four separate meetings that were repeatedly adjourned, the decision was finally taken on 23 October 1931, after some European members voted in favor of Bhombal. During World War II he was commissioned by the Royal Indian Navy and worked as Dock Master at Karachi Port Trust. After the war he was made Harbour Master at Karachi.

Assignments at Chittagong Port

In July 1949 the Pakistan Ministry of Communications requisitioned Bhombal's services as a special officer for the development of Chittagong Port in East Pakistan. However within two weeks of his arrival he was given the duties of Deputy Conservator, in which capacity he was to pilot ships in and out of the port and to train men. In addition to these duties, Bhombal completed the laying of five heavy first-class

moorings A mooring is any permanent structure to which a vessel may be secured. Examples include quays, wharfs, jetties, piers, anchor buoys, and mooring buoys. A ship is secured to a mooring to forestall free movement of the ship on the water. An ''a ...

which greatly increased the capacity of Chittagong Port, allowing it to take double the amount of foreign-going vessels. Previously the port had only six jetty berths and one mooring. In addition to the five heavy moorings, he also succeeded in laying numerous light moorings to accommodate small coastal vessels in the

Karnaphuli River Karnaphuli ( bn, কর্ণফুলি ''Kôrnophuli''; also spelt Karnafuli), or Khawthlangtuipui (in Mizo, meaning "western river"), is the largest and most important river in Chattogram and the Chattogram Hill Tracts. It is a wide rive ...

Assignments at Chalna Port

Following surveys of the

Pasur River The Pasur River is a river in southwestern Bangladesh and a distributary of the Ganges. It continues the Rupsa River. All its distributaries are tidal. It meets the Shibsa River within the Sundarbans Sundarbans (pronounced ) is a mangrove a ...

in 1948, the Pakistani government decided to establish an auxiliary anchorage to Chittagong at Chalna. The Communications Ministry selected Bhombal to organize and launch this new project. The Government announced the target date for the opening of Chalna Anchorage to be 8 December 1950. Bhombal arrived in

Khulna Khulna ( bn, খুলনা, ) is the third-largest city in Bangladesh, after Dhaka and Chittagong. It is the administrative centre of Khulna District and Khulna Division. Khulna's economy is the third-largest in Bangladesh, contributing $53 b ...

on 4 October. With the work of Bhombal and his team, the port was informally opened on 11 December. Bhombal became Port Director and Conservator of the new port, with the designation "Officer-in-Charge". In 1954 the Port Directorate was shifted a few miles downstream to Mongla.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Bhombal, ESB Pakistani sailors Sea captains Royal Indian Navy officers Pakistan Navy officers Military personnel from Mumbai Pakistani people of Konkani descent Pakistani civil servants