Jamshedji Tata founded 'Tata Line' to challenge the monopoly of the British shipping company 'P&O.' During the 1880s and 1890s, P&O was the dominant shipping line for exports from India, enjoying the support of the British Indian government. The company had a monopoly on shipping from India and charged exorbitant rates to Indian merchants, while offering favorable discounts to British and Jewish companies. At the time, Jamshedji Tata was involved in the textile business. He was deeply troubled by P&O's discriminatory practices against Indian traders and saw it as a grave injustice. This motivated him to establish India's shipping line.
Jamshedji Tata travelled to Japan to negotiate with Nippon Yusen Kaisha (NYK), Japan's largest shipping line, for a collaboration. NYK agreed to partner on the condition that Jamshedji would share equal risk in the new venture and operate the ships himself. Consequently, Jamshedji leased an English ship called 'Annie Barrow' at a fixed rate of 1,050 pounds per month, making it the first vessel of his new shipping company, which he named 'Tata Line'. This venture marked the Tata Group's first business endeavor under the Tata name.
Jamshedji believed that this enterprise would not only benefit his textile business but also help the entire Indian textile industry. While P&O charged 19 rupees per ton for shipping, Tata Line offered a much lower rate of 12 rupees per ton. Jamshedji hoped that these lower rates would break P&O's monopoly. He later leased another ship, 'Lindisfarne,' and these ships operated on the Bombay (now Mumbai)-China-Japan route. The Indian media praised Jamshedji for his bold initiative.
When P&O learned about Tata Line and its competitive rates, the company announced a reduction in its shipping charges by 1.8 rupees per ton. However, P&O imposed a condition that merchants could only avail of this reduced rate if they signed an agreement not to use Tata Line or NYK-affiliated ships. Additionally, P&O offered some select traders free shipping of their cotton to Japan and began spreading rumors that Tata Line's ship 'Lindisfarne' was unfit for transporting cotton.
Jamshedji raised concerns with the British Indian government about P&O's unfair practices but to no avail.
Gradually, Mumbai's cotton mills started withdrawing their contracts with Tata Line. Jamshedji warned that if his shipping company ceased operations, P&O would likely increase its rates again. The "freight war" between Tata Line and P&O became a hot topic in the newspapers. Anonymous letters were published in local papers questioning Jamshedji's patriotic motives for starting Tata Line.=Jamshedji had already invested over 100,000 rupees into Tata Line, and the business was incurring monthly losses amounting to tens of thousands of rupees—a significant sum in the 1890s. Faced with growing financial strain, Jamshedji reflected deeply on the situation. Ultimately, he concluded that Tata Line had no sustainable or viable path forward. Recognizing that closing the company could damage his reputation as a successful entrepreneur, Jamshedji nevertheless made the difficult decision to shut down Tata Line. The leased ships were returned to England, and the company was dissolved.
Interestingly, in 2007, the Tata Group and Japan's NYK Shipping once again joined forces. Tata Steel, a subsidiary of the Tata Group, and NYK Line entered into a 50:50 partnership to launch a shipping company named Tata NYK Shipping Pte Ltd.
