The Orient Line was originally conceived in 1797 as a cargo transport firm, then called “The Orient Steam Navigation Company”. By the turn of the 20^th Century, the company had joined forces with Peninsular and Oriental (now known as “P&O”), to deliver a weekly mail delivery from England to Australia. All their vessels had names beginning with 'O', such as “Otranto” and “Oriana”, the latter being the last to fly the Orient Line flag. The company officially merged with P&O in 1960, but another cruise line company took on the name in 1991 after having acquired the rights to the Orient Line brand.

JH