These institutes are the citadels of maritime education in India and have produced some of the greatest professionals, entrepreneurs, managers and leaders in the maritime industry worldwide.

T.S. Dufferin was launched in the year 1927 to train officers for the maritime marine. It was a resurrection of the Royal India Marine's largest troop ship, originally built in 1904 and converted to train cadets in 1927. Thus began an entirely new chapter in the history of Indian shipping when the first batch of seven cadets joined Dufferin on November 23, 1927 under Commander Henry Digby Beste, cadet R.S. Katari (later hon'ble Admiral R.S. Katari) being the first.

Dufferin had trained 2,656 cadets by the time she was decommissioned on 5th April, 1972. It is no mean tribute to her that four Chiefs of Naval staff of Indian Navy, a number of Admirals and senior Naval Officers, four Nautical advisers to the Government of India, two Chief Surveyors and large number of executives of shipping companies and many retired and serving Master’s are alumni of this Institute. 

The late Prime Minister Jawahar Lal Nehru called her "The Lady in White": This was in 1952 when Dufferin jubilated in her 25th anniversary. Almost five decades have passed since then and two illustrious institutions, T.S. Rajendra and T.S. Chanakya have descended in the very footsteps of T S Dufferin.

ln 1969 orders were placed with the Hindusthan Shipyard, Vishakhapatnam for the construction of a new training ship to replace the aging "Dufferin". The keel for the new ship was laid by Shri K. Raghuramiah, Minister of Shipping, on 20th October 1969, The ship was named after the great King Rajendra Chola, a tribute to the maritime prowess of the Chola empire. The Prime Minister received "Rajendra" from the builders on 2nd February 1972 and the ship was towed to Bombay in April 1972.

The inauguration ceremony took place on 16th April 1972 at Ballard Pier. The Vice-President of lndia Shri G.S. Pathak, inaugurated the new ship. Training Ship "Rajendra" was specifically designed for and could accommodate 250 deck cadets for the Merchant Navy, as opposed to 160 earlier.

T.S. Rajendra served illustriously for 21 years, not only training cadets but saloon crew as well.

Being aware that T.S. Rajendra would need replacement and that, the output of cadets needed to be substantially increased, the Government of India decided with great foresight set up a shore based academy for nautical cadets.

Thereby, a shore based Nautical Academy T.S.Chanakya was inaugurated by the then Minister of Surface Transport Shri. Jagdish Tytler on 5th April, 1993 The National Maritime Day and became operational on 1st August, 1993.

T.S. Chanakya upholds the tradition of its predecessors Training Ships Dufferin and Rajendra. Today the Merchant Navy is inundated with new management concepts of decentralization, equity and initiative. T.S. Chanakya not only teaches our cadets the new order, but also makes them the upholder of the old one.