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P&O Nedlloyd‎ > ‎1837-1996‎ > ‎

OCL Book

British Box Business - A History of OCL
(edited by Alan Bott, OBE)
 
"The advent of containerisation was, in fact, the most dramatic and profound change in the structure and operation of the international liner trades that has ever occurred...   the experience of OCL is therefore an important part of a major episode in shipping history..." - Sir Frederic Harmer
 
This book chronicles the British Container Revolution, 1965-1985.   It describes the genesis of the transformation from conventional to container shipping undertaken by the founders of Overseas Containers Limited - P&O, Ocean Transport & Trading, Furness Withy and British & Commonwealth.
 
Contents
 
With a forward by SCARA President Robert Woods and a Preface by Editor Alan Bott, the book contains fourteen chapters covering the birth of the container shipping company, the growth of each major trade, and the years that followed with P&O Containers and P&O Nedlloyd:
  1. Beginnings
  2. Planning the first service
  3. Sailing to Australia
  4. Conferences, Consortia and Crossing to Japan
  5. Building the Through-Transport-Business
  6. Far East Trade
  7. The Years Between: 1973-1978
  8. New Zealand Trade
  9. South Africa Trade
  10. OC(P)L and the Australia/New Zealand-Asia Trades
  11. Middle East, India and East Africa Trades
  12. Facing the Competition: 1979-1986
  13. Financial Matters
  14. After OCL : 1986-2005
The nine appendices provide background information on the founding companies, and then detail each major aspect of the operation:
i. The founding companies of OCL
ii. Planning the first service
iii. Calendar of Events in OCL : 1965-2005
iv. OCL and P&OCL Directors : 1965-1996
v. International Container Management (ICM)
vi. Combined Transport Documents, Insurance & Claims
vii. Computer Systems and Documentation
viii. Life at Sea in the Container Age 
ix. Financial Matters
Contributors
 
This high quality, hard-cover book is published by SCARA with 288 pages and many illustrations which embrace the personalities, the ships, the terminals & containerbases and the cargoes. Edited by Alan Bott the book is authored by many who played a direct role in the early years of containerisation.
 
The contributors include: Robert Woods, Alan Bott, Michael & Patricia Graham, Sir Adrian Swire, John Roberts, Michael Read, Stephen Rabson, Pat Tobin, Guy Cheeseman, John Newton, captains Michael Penney, Ken Owen & Michael Heron, Bob Straffen, Marion Ward, Pat Moore, John Richardson, and Anton Ratnayake.

 
Availability

Released in 2009 to celebrate the 40th anniversary of the maiden voyage of the Encounter Bay the world's first purpose built container ship, the book costs just £15 plus post and packing. 
 
 
Copies were distributed and sold directly to members by SCARA.   The book had a limited print run but copies are still be available.
 
Email SCARA via the link below with your details (including the required delivery address) and you will be contacted with the cost of post and packing and instructions on where to send payment.
 
 
 
 
 
British Box Business - A History of OCL was published with support from Sir Adrian Swire and the Maersk Company
 
 
 
 

The editor, contributors and SCARA committee members at the book launch