Made in 1953 by British Petroleum, this film about oil tankers shows the rapidly growing oil industry launching new and larger ships to keep up with consumer demand. It also explains the increase in need for oil tankers. It presented by British Petroleum (:11) and produced by Greenpark (:24). It was directed by R.Q. McNaughton, photographed by Roland Stafford, and produced by Humphrey Swingler with music by Robert Sharples. The film opens with scenes of a British harbor master or coastal lookout readying himself for the day (:55). He views the waters around him through a telescope as the narrator speaks about how the world’s population of ships continued to increase (1:04). A large passenger liner moves through the water (1:09). An oil tanker is spotted (1:14). Observers had begun to spot tankers more frequently; about 1 in 4 ships. As the world turned to a stronger reliance on oil, oil tankers became more prevalent. A large snow plow, requiring oil for operation, blows through deep snow (1:50). A lighthouse is shown with the lamphouse featured (1:53). Oil is shown moved by pipeline (2:27), though much of it must be moved by sea. Daily, about ten million tons of oil were in transit (2:35). Oil takers are pictured on the move (2:48). The Britannic House, headquarters of BP, monitored and decided where the tankers were to travel to (3:00). Variables which must be taken into account include the suitability of ships for ports and cargo (3:10), the ship’s requirement for relieving officers and crews (3:15) and the current demand for oil (3:29). The French vessel, the Prairial (3:43) is pictured at harbor. One of the ships is diverted as the cargo is needed at another refinery (3:59). The Morse coded message is received here by the British vessel (4:16) as it was moving up the English Channel. The captain overlooks navigation charts (4:36). The crew is seen during recreational time as they receive the message for rerouting (5:16). The engine room is also made aware of the destination change (5:25). The new helmsman moves across the bridge for a change in shift (5:39). One crew member enters his cabin showing their living conditions (6:29). The order is sent out for the tugs to be readied to be moved in (7:14). A small tug moves in (7:23). The oil tanker docks (8:32). The British Sailor; built in 1952 by John Brown & Company, is pictured (9:00) at the ways in Clydeside. Scotland. It displaced 20,961 tons, and was later sold by BP and renamed Marisira and then Fagr. before being scrapped in 1980.. Shipyard workers construct oil tankers which made up about half of the ships produced that year (9:06). The film begins to conclude as the new oil tanker heads out to sea (9:50).
We encourage viewers to add comments and, especially, to provide additional information about our videos by adding a comment! See something interesting? Tell people what it is and what they can see by writing something for example: “01:00:12:00 — President Roosevelt is seen meeting with Winston Churchill at the Quebec Conference.”
This film is part of the Periscope Film LLC archive, one of the largest historic military, transportation, and aviation stock footage collections in the USA. Entirely film backed, this material is available for licensing in 24p HD, 2k and 4k. For more information visit http://www.PeriscopeFilm.com
