What I have been told is that there were oil tanker boats which transited the seas and delivered oil. This is when aeroplanes were just being commercialized. But automobiles and electricity and rail all had the need for oil.
There are two majoritively industrialized regions with oil tanker runs:
the British Isles and the United States. As it stands today Britain takes the high octane fraction of the the distillates. They run 103, 104 octane. The US takes the lower fraction of the distillates 87 -> 94. British Isles and the rest of Europe charge more for gas. Therefore obtaining high octane gas in the US is more expensive. After all any higher octane fraction sells in Europe. They are the ones who really have to worry. Diesel is practically super-high octane which exceeds the specifications of the automotive design.
I don't know the date at which this practice was established. It is probably relevant to the following.
Oil tankers are much like cargo ships. They are slow and only require a few hands. 3 shifts and the mechanism of what is essentially auto-pilot means the boat will probably have three people on it. These boat could be at sea for weeks. The Mechanic and the Captain fill their extra hours mindlessly driving the vessel in open waters.
The third duty is that of the Driver. Not a prestigious job but one which is required to insure safety at landing. This job is occupied by a girl in her earliest teenage years. Somewhat of a ballerina who is rather cautious.
In Britain the boat crew is not made up the same. There is a responsible deckhand and, well, a hoard of dirty slime who will only account for a partial, or a fraction of a hand. There may well be 7 aboard this Ocean going vessel.
The Captain aboard the US tanker is skilled at navigating at a time when there was no GPS. Navigational directions are given and the course is set sail.
The British vessel does not have such skilled labor on-board. The best, most prudent means of navigation is to follow the US ship to port of harbor.
It so happens that girls can be reactionary. Boats don't maneuver very well especially without a Alice-in-Wonder-Land perspective. There is a psychological term for the experience when everything appears to be very small. Remember that oil tankers double as aircraft carriers.
Boats don't simply stop in the water. It is an enormous marine foul to back ones oil tanker or otherwise run the oil tanker into another vessel.
The British vessel collides with the American vessel at port, it is the Driver at the helm.
The Driver, young girls can be reactionary, abouts the vessel and strikes the European directly with the bow. It makes a great noise. The American vessel heads due course at a clip.
This creates a ruckus aboard the British vessel; the deck crew avoids revealing the first collision was their own fault (and we might hear the story told about the second third and fourth). Therein creates an excited aggression towards the American vessel.
The Driver happens to be at the helm 18 hours a day. This is where we eventually get the battle of midway (across the Atlantic Ocean). As the story was told the pond was a dirty pool.
At some point the boats are in collision and the Captain of the British vessel is able to jump ship to ship. When the Mechanic arrives (due to the great collision) the Driver is in a corner in tears. The Mechanic, being quite in love with the Driver, wheels the pirate. The medical attention required results in calling on shore.
The Drivers father is the tycoon who owns the oil company. In light of this event he discharges the Driver back to land.
Now there are two individuals operating the boat. The Captain and the Mechanic. They are sailing in the Pacific. A good deal of new boat traffic has already begun to service, this is the new oil age.
Arriving at Pearl Harbor there is a line of vessels blocking the entrance. Contrary to some accounts, it is not possible to Anchor boats in parallel. Boats may be front to back only.
The Captain blows his horn, even at night boats will idle to prevent having to restart engines. Opening the gate should be just moments. Hours pass. There are ways to get through parked boats. This is why the Driver was aboard after all. The Captain attempt to pass through the Anchored ships (neither the Captain nor the Mechanic realize it is Sunday morning, whence no hands would arrive on deck). It is possible to pass through the blockade but a ship is now listing. As the ship goes under it pulls another boat readily into the conservative path of the US ship. Making hard out for safety another boat is drug into the running vector.
At which point the Captain retreats to his quarters. Leaving only the Mechanic to steer the ship.
I don't know what got into his head at that point. Love, vengeance, laughter, fear. He proceeded to sink the remaining boats in the harbor.
Docking at shore he looks for the skipper (gas can), still doesn't remember it's Sunday, the Captain sets out to Japanese harbor.
The remainder of the story, how American militants were captured in various locations, I do not know so well. Obviously after sinking the entire British fleet, there was little laughter.
Ultimately Oil Tankers inspire Aircraft Carriers. Flying off the Oil Tanker the Mechanic lands himself in WW2. He had his Love and her bank roll was not easy to impress. Chartering an air campaign was not cheap. Eventually the two are married.
-The Wind
