In 1847, shortly after the Opium War, P&amp;O entered the opium trade; shipping 642,000 chests of Bengal and Malwa opium in the next eleven years. They faced stiff competition from the incumbent shippers, Jardines and the Apcar Line. As the Peninsular and Oriental Steam Navigation Company was incorporated in 1840 by a Royal Charter its name therefore included neither "Plc" nor "Limited".