Imagine a world without containers. In the 1960s, apart from mainly trans-Atlantic routes established by Malcom McLean, Matson in the Pacific and a handful of other carriers mainly on short sea routes, the world's non-oil trade was carried predominantly in conventional general cargo and reefer ships. It was during this period that the chairmen of four British shipping companies, P&O, Ocean, British & Commonwealth and Fur-ness Withy, pooled their ideas and eventually their financial resources to form OCL (Overseas Containers Ltd) in a bid to protect their respective trade interests from the threat of McLean's ambitions.
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