WHEN Belgium left the Congo in 1960, the two sister liners which had linked the two countries, the 14,000-ton Jadotville and Baudouinville, became redundant.

Britain's P&O Line moved quickly and bought both ships for a total of £3m, a bargain as the vessels were only a few years old.

Jadotville was built at Saint-Nazaire, France, in 1956 and her sister ship at Antwerp in 1957.

P&O pleased ship enthusiasts by renaming the ships, Chitral, pictured, and Cathay - both famous names in the company's long history.

The ex-Belgian ships were needed as replacements for two which were going out of the fleet, Corfu and Carthage, both built in the early 1930s. Chitral made her first sailing from London and Southampton to the Far East in March, 1961. She had a full passenger complement and more than 6,000 tons of cargo.

The following month Cathay made her first voyage flying the P&O flag. By coincidence she reached Southampton on the same day that one of the oldest ships in the P&O fleet, Corfu, arrived prior to being broken up.

The partnership between the ships was broken in 1969 when Cathay was transferred to the Australia-Far East route.

For a few months in 1970 Chitral operated as cruise ship but in the September of that year she too was moved to Australia where she met up with her sister.

Chitral was scrapped in 1975, when she was 19 years old. The following year Cathay was sold to China and used for the training of merchant marine officers but was reported to have been broken up in 1996.