The Standard Oil Company of California listings show the detail available for individual tankers. W. H. Berg and H. D. Collier were completed in 1938 and are listed at 8,298 tons, with capacity for 12,700 tons of fuel and crews of 65. The key decodes their dimensions as 441 feet long, 65 feet in beam, and 29 feet in draught, while each entry gives a top speed of about 13.5 knots. Builder information and footnotes add vessel-specific context. These specifications let a researcher compare company fleets and judge what merchant hulls could actually do.
Notable Point · 3:41-7:21
Using ship specifications to compare company fleets
A Standard Oil example shows how the book records builders, tonnage, fuel capacity, crew, dimensions, speed, and explanatory keys.