BOOK REVIEW | BP Shipping Pictorial: The Golden Years 1945-1975

Don’t be fooled by the word “pictorial” in its title. While it does include some first-rate pictures, this book is much more than that.

It describes very fully three of the most interesting and intense decades in tanker, indeed ship, development in all of maritime history.

Focused on just one ship owning company, albeit a big and important one in BP Shipping, it tracks the vast changes that occurred globally in just that one sector. It is not just a story of naval architecture and shipbuilding but of business acumen, investment bravery, politics, and the environment.

Essentially, that period saw the growth of tankers from around 10,000 to 12,000 DWT to 240,000 to 250,000 DWT and their operating speeds increase from 10 or 12 knots to 15 or 16.

Simultaneously, their crew numbers were more than halved from around 40 while the ships became much safer and more environmentally sound. Costs per ton-mile of oil transportation plummeted as a result. It was a classical illustration of the economies of scale.

Over a comparatively brief period, it is a brilliant example of human technical and economic development. The story is well told and very well illustrated.

Author: Ray Solly

Available from Whittles Publishing, Caithness, Scotland

Web: www.whittlespublishing.com