Bombay Bay

Bombay Bay's sheltered anchorage became the basis of an expanding maritime establishment after the port and island passed to the English East India Company in 1668. The Company built a customs house, warehouse and a mole for small vessels. Bombay became an early Indian port of call for ships arriving from Europe, creating demand for repair facilities as well as places to unload cargo. Shipbuilding expanded during the eighteenth century, and the first dry dock was completed around 1748–1750; further docks followed before the end of the century. Yet much shipping continued to load and discharge while lying offshore. Small craft carried cargo between these vessels and the shore, while shallow-draft boats could use open wharves known as bunders. Before the later enclosed wet docks, the bay itself remained the working space around which workshops, landing places and naval defences developed.