A new "Bombay Marine," consisting of a few small vessels engaged in the local transport and pilotage service of that port, similar to one that had already come into existence at Calcutta, was thereupon instituted. The Indian Marine Service Act of 1884 made provision for placing the vessels belonging to the Government of India under the Naval Discipline Act in time of war, and for constituting such ships vessels of war in the Royal navy. At the same time a warrant was issued authorising the vessels of the Indian Marine (to which the Prefix "Royal" was added in 1892) to fly a blue ensign with a badge of the Star of India in the fly, and a Union jack with a blue border. These vessels were in November, 1921, authorised to fly a red pendant when in commission.
The "private man-of-war" or "privateer[319]" was a vessel the owner (or owners) of which had received from the Crown, or from the Lord High Admiral, "Letters of Marque and Reprisal." The occasion for the issue of such a licence, which was originally granted in the form of Letters Patent--whence the name--might be either special or general. It might be issued "specially" to some merchant who was able to prove that he had suffered certain losses from the action of the subjects of some foreign power, and who was thereupon authorised to make seizure of any ships or goods belonging to subjects of that State until he had by that means taken sufficient plunder to make good the losses formerly sustained by him, but no more. Such licences were also issued "generally" upon the outbreak of hostilities with a foreign state, to any subjects who wished to make war upon enemy vessels on the chance of making some profit by it, and who were able to give satisfactory security that they would comply with the regulations laid down for their conduct, particularly in the matter of the disposal of prizes taken. During the wars of the late seventeenth and eighteenth centuries merchants frequently sought Letters of Marque for their vessels, not because they wished them to take the offensive as regular privateers, but because they were thereby freed of all danger of being classed as "pirates" should they attempt to turn the tables upon any enemy that attacked them. For this reason many, perhaps most, of the ships of the East India and Guinea Companies fitted out in the seventeenth century carried Letters of Marque and displayed the Union jack.