Since 1869, when the Word's first oil tanker, the Charles, crossed the Atlantic.
The Charles, home-ported in Antwerp, Belgium, carried its cargo in 59 iron tanks below decks. Earlier, oil was transported across the ocean in actual wooden barrels, each capable of holding only 42 gallons, which severely limited the carrying capacity of individual ships -- but also established the "barrel" as oil's unit of measurement.
And before all the greenies fill their nappies crying about big evil oil companies and modern day tanker spills, know that mother nature is the biggest oil polluter on this rock.
