Piping Oil to Ships at Sea 



A steamship on 

 the other side of 

 the bar plays the 

 part of a hauUng 

 locomotive. 

 Flags are used 

 for signaling 

 and an elevated 

 disk designates 

 a station to the 

 ship out at 



GREAT oil regions lie to 

 • the west of Tuxpan, w hich 

 Mexican city, in conse- 

 quence, has become a most con- 

 venient point for exporting oil. 

 However, there are neither dock- 

 ing nor harbor facilities, because 

 of an imniense sandbar which 

 cfTcctually prevents ocean-goiiii; 

 vessels trom approaching thr 

 city much nearer than a mile. 



To o\ercome this dilViculty, 

 the oil companies devised a 

 novel method of loading oil. Long pipe 

 lines were run out under the sea and over 

 the sandbar. To the outer ends of these 

 lines flexible elbow joints were attached. 

 Nipples on the upturned ends of theelliow 

 joints were i)ro\ided for ihe attaciimeiit 

 i)f rubber or other hose, leading from the 

 pi|)e lines to the siirfact'. their position 

 being [ilainly indicated by large buoys. 



At left: Transport- 

 ing the pipe-line 

 sections into the 

 ocean by railway 



Below: Vessels to 

 be loaded pick up 

 buoy with liose at- 

 tached and signal 

 a pumping station 



In loading oil, vessels simplj- ride at 

 anchor in the open roadstead, pick up 

 one of the buoys with hose attached, 

 signal a pumping plant on shore, and 

 take on oil at the rate of one thousand. 

 se\en hundred barrels an hour. E\en 

 though the \'essels roll, the intake of oil 

 is not seriously retarded. Indi-i'd. oil 

 is taken aboard with almost the same 



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