P&O are the most successful British shipping company today. Directly or jointly with others, they are involved in passenger and cargo ferries, cruise ships, container ships and bulk carriers.

A long and proud history

In 1840, P&O`s Scottish founders, Willcox and Anderson, were granted a Royal Charter. This gave the Peninsular and Oriental Steam Navigation Company limited liability, where the investors in the company are not personally responsible for the company’s debts. It would be a long time before various acts made this status readily available to other companies. Initially running to Spain and Portugal - the `Peninsular` of their title - the company quickly established passenger services to the Far East (`Orient for which it became famous.

The company even gave the English language a word. When travelling to and from the Far East, wealthier travellers would book cabins on the port side [definition] of a ship going out and the starboard side [definition] coming home. This meant that their cabins generally faced north, avoiding the heat and glare of the sun in the Indian Ocean. To mark their tickets, P&O`s clerks abbreviated `port out, starboard home` to POSH.

Expansion

Cadets on the deck of P&O`s `Carthage`

Like other successful companies, P&O bought other shipping lines, especially around the time of the First World War. These included enormous companies like British India, with a vast network of services around the Indian Ocean. Also acquired were Federal and New Zealand Shipping, operating directly to Australasia, Strick Line running to the Arabian Gulf, Coast Lines operating on British coastal and short sea routes, and the tramps of Hain Steamship Co. Ltd. All these companies were allowed to continue trading under their own names until the early 1970s when management consultants advised the company to consolidate its activities under the famous P&O title.