Former headquarters of the legendary Irrawaddy Flotilla Company
- 50 Pansodan Street, Lower Block
- Open weekdays 9am-5pm
- Not open for tourists
- Website
Irrawaddy Flotilla Company
50 Pansodan was the headquarters of the legendary Irrawaddy Flotilla Company. In the 1860’s they started with four paddle steamers and three cargo flats and at its peak in the 1920’s Flotilla’s fleet had grown to over 600 vessels carrying some 9 million passengers and 1.2 million-ton cargo every year. The 1912 Thomas Cook & Co guidebook called it: “The greatest and finest river fleet in the world, with large and roomy cabins, fitted with electric light and fans and most comfortably furnished.”
Sunken fleet
In 1942, when the Japanese invaded Burma, Flotilla’s last chief commander ordered his men to sink the entire fleet. Only one boat survived. After the war it was the late dictator General Ne Win - who ruled Burma from 1962 until 1988 - who used this ship ‘Moiat Yadana’ as his private ‘yacht’. He moored it in a small village near Bagan.
Come you back to Mandalay, where the old Flotilla lay.
Want to relive the golden days?
Book a luxury cruise on-board of a floating boutique hotel with Ayravata Cruises who operate a fleet of four ships, among which one original Scottish made steamer kitted out with teak and ironwood decks, old brass outfitting and teak-walled cabins.