ORIENT LINE’S POST-WAR TRIO AN EVOLUTION IN DESIGN Orcades • Oronsay • Orsova

As World War II drew to a close, Orient Line reflected on the fact that half of its fleet of eight ships had been lost to enemy action, including its new flagship Orcades of 1937. Anticipating considerable competition for shipbuilding berths, and that materials would be scarce, the Line ordered its first post-war ship before the war had even ended. Uniquely, Orient Line was actually 51 per cent majority owned by P&O Line, a competitor on the run out from the UK to the Antipodes; the Line was managed by Anderson, Green & Co, which owned the remaining 49 per cent minority shareholding in the business.

However, there was considerable co-operation between the two management teams, not least in rationalisation of their newbuilding programmes to reduce costs. Orient’s of 1935 had been the template for P&O’s , and , while she in turn had been influenced by P&O’s earlier and All these ships had been built at the Vickers Shipbuilding and Engineering yard at Barrow-in-Furness, and all Orient’s post-war ships would be built at the same shipyard. The first ship of the immediate trio of post-war newbuilds was given the name of her gallant predecessor, , and she shared her hull design with P&O’s which followed her into production.