[ 127 ] “ The most sustainable ferries ever to sail on the English Channel, P&O Pioneer and sister ship P&O Liberté deliver operational excellence, helping to make passenger journeys effortless” The Admiralty contract was signed by Captain Bourne, owner of William Fawcett, an 1828-built, 206-ton sail-assisted paddle steamer, traditionally regarded as the very first P&O ship, although she never ran on the mail contract service that begun in 1837. The new shipping company was initially known as The Peninsular Steam Navigation Company. It wasn’t until 1840 that Oriental was added to reflect the company’s expanding services eastwards beyond the Iberian peninsular to the eastern Mediterranean and the Orient. On 31 December 1840, The Peninsular and Oriental Steam Navigation Company was incorporated by Royal Charter with capital of GBP 1 million. From humble beginnings the company has endured and expanded to the ferry company it is today, with a fleet of more than 15 ships. P&O ships have sailed the seas from the dawn of the industrial revolution, through two World Wars and up to the present day. From spearheading innovation during the days of the British Empire to embracing change in modern times, the company has retained the values that made it so successful in the first place. Today P&O Ferries carries about 7.5 million passengers, 2 million freight units and 1.25 million private cars every year, operating major routes between Great Britain, France, Northern Ireland, the Irish Republic, the Netherlands and Belgium. Perhaps P&O’s most iconic symbol is its billowing house flag, the company’s logo. Still flying high, the P&O house flag dates back to the company’s origins, bearing the colours of the royal families of Portugal (blue and white) and Spain (red and gold). This royal seal of approval was granted to P&O’s three founders following their support for the legitimist causes in the civil wars in Portugal and Spain in the early 1830s. A handy rhyme has reminded P&O crew how to fly the flag ever since: “Blue to the mast, red to the fly, yellow to the deck and white to the Sky!” LEADING FERRY OPERATOR P&O’s commercial interest in ferries began in the 1960s during the early days of ro-ro ferries. From those pioneering days, P&O’s ferries have operated on routes from several UK and channel ports from the Shetland Islands to Bilbao. In 2002, the separate ferry divisions and brands operating on the North Sea, Western Channel, Dover Strait and Irish Sea were merged under the P&O Ferries umbrella. 24 September 2019 marked the start of a new epoch when P&O Ferries signed a EUR 260 million contract with China’s Guangzhou Shipyard International (GSI) for the construction of two next-generation Dover–Calais superferries. The double order signalled a significant leap forward in the company’s journey to realise the Ship of the Future project, with the newbuilds being physical embodiments of the changes being made across the business. These new vessels are real game-changers, harnessing advances in technology, automation, efficiency and customer service and built into a bespoke design which will carve the company’s path ahead of the competition. The most sustainable ferries ever to sail on the English Channel, P&O Pioneer and sister ship P&O Liberté deliver operational excellence, helping to make passenger journeys effortless. LEGACY Portraits of Brodie McGhie Willcox, Arthur Anderson and Captain Richard Bourne RN, painted in oils by Thomas Francis Dicksee in 1850 P&O Heritage
RkJQdWJsaXNoZXIy NzQ1NTk=