MMD Mumbai was established in the year 1929 under the erstwhile Department of Commerce under the auspices of Merchant Shipping Act 1923. At the same time MMDs at Karachi, Madras, Calcutta and Rangoon also came in existence. Since then MMD Mumbai has been dedicated to the service and growth of Indian Mercantile Marine.

In 1949, when the Directorate General of Shipping was constituted, the MMDs at Mumbai, Kolkata and Chennai were brought under the centralised authority of the the Govt. of India under the Ministry of Shipping.

Capt. E V Wish was the first Principal Officer (P.O.) of MMD Mumbai who had been appointed of 01 st February 1930. The first Indian to be appointed to the post of P.O. MMD Mumbai was Shri B K Gupta, who was appointed to the post on 06.10.1951.

One of the key functions of MMD Mumbai is to register vessels under the Merchant Shipping Act 1958 and Coasting Vessels Act 1838. Vessel ‘Dayawati’ (Official no. 153812), was the first vessel registered by MMD Mumbai on 16.10.1929 after its establishment. Currently, MMD Mumbai is the largest Registrar of vessels in India.

• Registration of mortgages and other certifications associated with registration (MSMD, GTL, DMLC, CSR )
• Survey and Certification of vessels, including that of IFVs and Petroleum Licenses
• Audits of Ships (ISPS, ISM and MLC)
• Flag State (FSI) and Port State Control (PSC) Inspections
• Examination and Certification of Seafarers
• Inspection and Certification of service providers (LSA/ FFA/ Radio/ IMSBC/ IMDG)
• Inspection and Certification of MTIs
• Inspection/ Audits of Ports and Terminals under its jurisdiction (ISPS, NSPC, PERF and MLC)
• Coordination in Contingency Response
• Casualty Investigation
• Administrative matters of the offices of SM, SEO and R.O. Sails Mumbai and Jamnagar
• Inputs to DGS on policy matters