| has gloss | eng: Overseas Containers Limited (OCL) was a container shipping company formed by a consortium of British shipping companies in 1965. Not to be confused with Orient Overseas Container Line (OOCL). History In the early days of containerisation considerable investment was still required in the necessary infrastructure to transport and handle shipping containers, and many shipping companies formed consortia to ease the financial burden. OCL was formed in 1969 by four British companies: British and Commonwealth Shipping, Furness Withy, P&O and the Ocean Steamship Company. Between 1969 and 1970 OCL took delivery of its first ships, a fleet of six vessels of and capacity for the UK/Europe to Australia route. The service was inaugurated on the 6th March 1969 by ss Encounter Bay undertaking her maiden voyage, and OCL overcame heavy losses in the first years of operations to become one of the worlds leading container lines. |
