Occidental and Oriental Steamship Company facts for kids
House flag
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| Industry | Transportation |
|---|---|
| Successor | Pacific Mail Steamship Company |
| Founded | 1874 |
| Founder | George Bradbury |
| Defunct | 1908 |
| Headquarters | San Francisco |
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Area served
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Pacific Ocean |
| Services | Cargo and passenger |
| Owner | Central Pacific Railroad & Union Pacific Railroad |
The Occidental and Oriental Steamship Company (often called O&O) was an American shipping company. It was started in 1874 by US railroad companies. They wanted to compete with another shipping company, the Pacific Mail Steamship Company. This was because Pacific Mail had not kept its promises to the railroads.
O&O rented ships from different companies, especially the British White Star Line. The company quickly became very successful, even surprising its founders. O&O became a strong competitor to Pacific Mail. By 1900, the vice president of Pacific Mail even became the president of O&O. In the years that followed, Pacific Mail got newer, more powerful ships. Because of this, O&O slowly stopped renting ships. On October 30, 1906, the SS Coptic made the company's last trip. However, O&O continued to advertise trips until July 1908.
Contents
How the O&O Company Started
A Smart Idea That Paid Off
The Occidental and Oriental Steamship Company (O&O) began in late 1874. It was the idea of George Bradbury, who used to be the president of the Pacific Mail Steamship Company. Pacific Mail had an agreement with several US railroad companies. This agreement said that passengers from Asia would use the transcontinental railway lines. They would travel from the West Coast to the East Coast after arriving in San Francisco.
This agreement worked well after the railway line was finished in 1869. But in 1873, Pacific Mail bought new ships. They decided it was more profitable for their passengers to travel through the Panama canal route instead of taking the transcontinental train. To make Pacific Mail keep its promises, the Central Pacific and the Union Pacific railroads joined together. They formed the O&O company. They invested ten million dollars in the new company. George Bradbury became its president.
Renting Ships and Setting Records
Bradbury quickly went to London to find ships to rent. In October 1874, he met with Thomas Henry Ismay, the head of the White Star Line. They agreed to rent three ships for two years. These ships were the SS Gaelic and the SS Belgic, which carried both cargo and passengers. They also rented the RMS Oceanic. This was White Star's first luxury ship, but it was no longer needed on the North Atlantic route. The Oceanic became a very important and fancy ship for O&O.
The Oceanic left Liverpool with a big celebration. It sailed to Hong Kong to start its new service. It stopped in Yokohama before heading to San Francisco. The Oceanic set a new record for crossing the Pacific. It took only 16 days and 10 hours. This was 8 days faster than Pacific Mail's ships! In 1876, it broke its own record, crossing in 14 days and 15 hours. This success led to a long partnership between O&O and White Star. White Star provided British officers, and O&O provided Chinese crews.
Growing Success and More Ships
The first trip of the Oceanic was so successful that O&O achieved its goal very quickly. Even before the ship reached San Francisco, Pacific Mail accepted defeat. They signed a contract with O&O to work together on the route.
However, in the following years, Pacific Mail's managers were not happy with the contract. They threatened to end it. So, O&O stayed active just in case. The agreement with White Star continued. Four more ships were rented: the SS Arabic and SS Coptic in 1881, and the new SS Belgic and RMS Gaelic in 1885. O&O also rented ships from other British and US companies. But White Star ships were still the most important. The Oceanic remained the most famous ship for O&O until it stopped sailing in 1896.
Working Together and The End of O&O
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O&O made money by carrying passengers and goods. Its founders thought they might lose about $100,000 each year. They were willing to pay this to compete with Pacific Mail. But O&O did much better than expected and actually made a profit.
In the 1890s, Pacific Mail complained that O&O was carrying three times more passengers and cargo than they were, even though they were working together. Pacific Mail started adding more stops to its routes, like Honolulu, then Kobe, Nagasaki, and Shanghai. They also made agreements with a Japanese company called Toyo Kisen Kaisha.
In 1900, O&O and Pacific Mail became even closer. Schwerin, who was the general manager and vice president of Pacific Mail, became the president of O&O. At the same time, Pacific Mail was getting bigger and bigger ships. O&O started to end its ship rental contracts. For example, the contract for the Gaelic ended in 1904.
The O&O service was then run by the Doric and the Coptic. On October 30, 1906, the Coptic made the very last trip for the company. Both remaining ships were sold to Pacific Mail. Pacific Mail renamed them Asia and Persia.
Even after the ships were sold, O&O advertisements continued to appear in San Francisco until 1908. Two days before the last advertisement was published, on July 23, 1908, the company held its last official meeting.
