S.S. Chitral Souvenir Miniature Lifebuoy - P & O Lines

A miniature Souvenir Lifebuoy measuring 4 3/4" in diameter....looks like this one was made 'on-board' by a crew member. The sister ships Cathay and Chitral, formerly the Baudouinville and Jadotville, were the last passenger ships to be built for the Compagnie Maritime Belge. They had a very short life under the Belgian flag, due to Congolese independence in June 1960, and were sold to P&O in 1961, for just £3 million. Operating on a Far East schedule from Tilbury to the Far East until 1970, ownership then passed to the Eastern & Australian Steamship Company, a P&O subsidiary, serving between Australia, the Far East and Japan. Chitral was scrapped in 1975, and Cathay in 1996 - after long service with the China Ocean Shipping Company, who had acquired her from the Nab Yang Shipping Company in 1976 as the Kenghshin. Under China Ocean Shipping Company ownership, she was re-named Shanghai, and well maintained for two decades.