The T.S" Dufferin" was originally built as a troop ship for the Royal Indian Marine by M/s. Vickers Son & Maxim at Barrow-in-Furness, England, launched in 14th September 1904 and delivered to the Govt. of India in Bombay on 21st February, 1905.

During the World War I, she saw active service as auxiliary cruiser. At the end of the War, she returned to her original duty as a troop career. In June 1925 the "Dufferin" was scheduled to be sold for scrap along with her other two sister troop ships, Hardinge and Northbrook. But destiny had reserved a more memorable role for the "Dufferin"; that of being the first Maritime Training Institution in India. The passing of a resolution moved in the Central Legislative Assembly by Sir Sivaswamy Iyer in January 1922 resulted in the appointment of Indian Mercantile Marine Committee. This Committee recommended the establishment of Training Ship in Bombay for the purpose of training Indian boys in marine profession and further recommended that the troopship "Dufferin" be converted for this purpose. The Indian Mercantile Marine Training Ship "Dufferin" thus came into being in November 1927.

The "Dufferin" started her new career on an experimental basis for 3 years and was made into a permanent institution in the year 1930. The duration of the training course was 3 years and the entry qualification was 3 standards below matriculation. The passing certificate of the "Dufferin" was recognized by the Bombay University as equivalent to matriculation certificate.

The first batch of 7 out of 30 selected joined the ship in November, 1927. From 1927 till 1934, the "Dufferin" trained only executive cadets. In 1935, the first batch of Engineer Cadets joined the ship.

In the year 1947, India became an independent Sovereign State. Thereafter the Govt. of India took steps to meet the increasing demands for the trained maritime personnel.

The course capacity was increased to 80 cadets per year by reducing course duration to two years and raising the entry qualification to matriculation. In the year 1948, the "Dufferin" was reserved exclusively for Deck Cadets and a separate institution named Directorate Marine Engineering Training (DMET) was set up in Calcutta with a branch in Bombay.

In 1952 the "Dufferin" celebrated Silver Jubilee. A tribute worthy of the great ship was paid by no less a person than the late Prime Minister Jawaharlal Nehru. He said "Looking at the lady in while I see she has stayed remarkably young and fit. I have no doubt that she will have many years of good service and good looks before her".

With the passage of time, it became clear that the "Dufferin" would not be in a position to meet the increasing demands of the industry. Her capacity could not be increased any more. It was, therefore, decided to replace the training ship with a new one, built to order as a training ship. In the year 1972, the ":Dufferin" passed away from the center stage of marine training and became a fond memory in the hearts of all her alumni.