Peninsular and Oriental Company

Peninsular and Oriental Company carry mails and passengers between Great Britain and India, China, and Australia. The company in its present form was incorporated by royal charter in 1840, although it had then had an existence of three years' duration as the Peninsular Company, which carried mails to Portugal and the south of Spain, and afterwards to Egypt. The 'P. & O.' own a fleet of about sixty vessels, of an average size of 5000 tons each. They carry mails from Brindisi to Bombay, weekly, in the contracted time of 12½ days; from Brindisi to Shanghai, fortnightly, in 31 days; and from Brindisi to Adelaide, fortnightly, in 28½ days. The company also maintains a three-weekly service between Venice, Brindisi, and Egypt, and in Asia has lines from Bombay to Colombo, thence to Calcutta, and to Singapore, Hong-kong, Shanghai, and Japanese ports. See the company's Pocket-book and Monthly Handbook; and for information on other great shipping lines, see the article SHIPBUILDING in this work, and works there cited.