From the Book Sailing ship to Supertanker. The large tanker programme, with orders placed through the Standard Shipping Company of New York in 1929-33, was in two parts. The first orders for two ships to carry asphalt and oil in bulk were delivered from Palmers, on the Tyne. They were Stanasfalt (2,468 gt) and Ehano (2,623 gt). The Stanasfalt was delivered direct to Societe Auxiliaire des Transports, Rouen, in April, 1929; the Ehano, delivered in October, 1930, joined the same French fleet later and was renamed Petrophalt. There was an order for a 15,000-ton oil carrier from Burmeister & Wain, Copenhagen, for the Standard Oil associate, Det Danske Petroleum A/S, to be named Danmark; two 19,000 tdw tankers from the Federal Shipbuilding Company of Kearny, New Jersey, for the American parent company, designed with superheated steam turbines of 4,000 ihp to give 11 1/2 knots; and a further six vessels for Baltisch-Amerikanische Petroleum-Import-Gesellschaft.. Contracts for these six tankers were shared between British, German and Italian yards, five of the ships being based on the Calgarolite-type, a twin-screw motor tanker completed by Furness Shipbuilding Company, Haverton-on-Tees, in July, 1929, for Imperial Oil Ltd. The second part of this huge shipbuilding programme was awarded in 1931, contracts for a further nine similar ships being split between German and Italian yards. All these tankers were 542 feet (loa) X 70 feet breadth and were driven by twin screws. Of these fifteen similar tankers, the French-flag Marguerite Finaly was delivered direct to Societe Auxiliaire des Transports while two others were quickly transferred to other fleets; the R. L. Hague to the Italian flag and Robert F. Hand to Anglo-American in 1933. The remaining twelve ships were transferred to the Panama Transport Company when B.A.P.I.C.O. was reorganised in 1935 and of these the D. L. Harper, F.J. Wolfe and George McKmght joined the Anglo-American fleet and the Victor Ross went to the British Mexican Petroleum Company, all in 1939. The histories of these ships are shown in the postwar sections, as are those of the two American-flag, Federal-built ships G. Harrison Smith and W. S. Farish which, with the Panama-flag F. H. Bedford Jr., were all transferred to Anglo-American (Esso) in 1950. All were named after leading personalities of the Standard Oil and Anglo-American companies. Histories of the remaining non-British ships are as follows: Harry G. Seidel Completed 10.1930 11,065 Gross tons Built by Fr Krupp AG, Kiel. 1935: (Panama Transport Co.). 29.4.1942: Sunk by (U. 66) torpedo, 11.50N / 62.50W, 90 miles NW of Trinidad. Heinrich von Reidemann Completed 11.1930 11,020 Gross tons Built by Bremer Vulkan, Vegesack. 1935: (Panama Transport Co.). 17.4.1942: Sunk by (U. 66) torpedo, 11.55N / 63.47W, 150 miles NW of Trinidad. J. A. Mowinckel Completed 11.1930 11,147 Gross tons Built by Cantieri Riuniti Dell'Adriatico, Monfalcone. 1935: (Panama Transport Co.). 10.7.1942: Damaged by submarine (U.576) torpedo SE of Cape Hatteras. Headed for Hatteras Inlet, but struck U.S. mine. Beached, refloated and repaired. 1951: Orionis, then Seacastle (Soc. Nacionale del Mar, Panama). 1951: renamed Audacious. 1953: Platanos (Puerto Miramar Cia de Nav. Panama). 1954: Sold for breaking up. Peter Hurll Completed 11.1930 10,871 Gross tons Built by Palmers Shipbuilding Be Iron Co. Ltd., Newcastle. 1935: (Panama Transport Co.). 1948: Esso Kobenhavn (Dansk Esso A/S). 1963: Scrapped Denmark. J.H. Senior Completed 3.1931 11,065 Gross tons Built by Nordseewerke, Emden. 1935: (Panama Transport Co.). 20.8.1943: Collision, damaged by fire (voyage: New York/Clyde - gas oil). 24.8.1943: Arrived Bay Bulls, Newfoundland (in tow). Total loss. Laid up New York. 1950: Esso Picardie (Standard Francaise des Petroles). 4.2.1955: Arrived Savona for breaking up. Franz Klasen Completed 7.1932 11,194 Gross tons Built by Deutsche Werft, Hamburg. 1935: (Panama Transport Company). 1950: Maggy (Panamena de Transportes Petroles). 7.1960: Scrapped Savona. R.L. Hague Completed 7.1932 12,173 Gross tons Built by Cantieri Riuniti Dell'Adriatico, Monfalcone. 1933: ("La Columbia" Soc. Maritima per Transport di Petrolic). 1945: renamed Splendor. 1951: renamed Esso Italia. 6.1959: Scrapped Trieste. Orville Harden Completed 3.1933 11,191 Gross tons Built by Cantieri Riuniti Dell' Adriatico, Monfalcone. 1935: (Panama Transport Co.). 4.2.1945: Collision with Ena (Dutch, 1936/6229 gt) in Ambrose Channel, New York. Abandoned, partly submerged. Raised and repaired. 1950: Esso Languedoc (Standard Francaise des Petroles). 1956: Esso Orinoco (Cie de Petroles Lago (Venezuela)). A hulk. 1961: Sold for breaking up. Marguerite Finalay Completed 12.1933 12,369 Gross tons Built by Cantieri Riuniti Dell'Adriatico, Monfalcone for Soc Auxiliaire des Transports. 1939: Esso Provence (Standard Francaise des Petroles). 26.6.1944: Scuttled at Marseilles. Raised and: 7.1946: Arrived Toulon for repairs. 16.9.1949: Trials, re-entered service. 1959: Pacific Builder (Cia Asiatic Panamense). 1961: Pacific Navigator (United Overseas Marine Corp., Panama). A storage vessel. 23.3.1961: Arrived Shimotsu. 1962: Broken up. During the first few months of war, between October, 1939, and February, 1940, fifteen Standard Oil ships were removed from the United States flag and transferred to the Panama Transport Company and the Panamanian flag and in the subsequent four years several others followed. In July, 1941, eighteen tankers of the Panama Transport fleet were turned over to the United States Maritime Commission. Three of the vessels, T. J. Williams, W. C. Teagle and Geo. H. Jones, were selec-ted for operation by Anglo-American and in August, 1941, were provisionally registered as British-flag ships. Altogether, during the years of the Second World War, some fifty ocean-going tankers were under Panama Transport ownership, of which twenty were sunk by enemy action and another lost as a result of explosion and fire after a collision. Just after war ended in 1945 the company houseflag flew on twenty-six tankers. In 1961 the company name began to be phased out and the ships transferred to various newly-formed companies, including Panama Transport and Navigation Company S.A.; Panama Transport and Shipping Company S.A.; and Panama Transport and Tanker Company S.A., all registered in Panama.