by Guest » October 3, 2022, 8:44 pm
I was wondering if anyone out there has any insight into whether there was any difference between shipping fleets directly owned by steel companies such as Bethlehem, Inland, and United States Steel in comparison to fleets not directly owned by such companies like Oglebay Norton, Wilson, Gartland, American Steamship, etc. when it came to sailing in heavy weather. Were ships from either type of fleet more likely to sail into stormy weather? As many of the independent fleets served steel producers through contracts did those fleets push their ships harder as they had a range of customers to serve rather than being part of a vertical integration business model? Did either type of fleet structure encourage sailing despite the potential hazards more than the other? Or did it just come down to the personality traits of each individual shipmaster?
I was wondering if anyone out there has any insight into whether there was any difference between shipping fleets directly owned by steel companies such as Bethlehem, Inland, and United States Steel in comparison to fleets not directly owned by such companies like Oglebay Norton, Wilson, Gartland, American Steamship, etc. when it came to sailing in heavy weather. Were ships from either type of fleet more likely to sail into stormy weather? As many of the independent fleets served steel producers through contracts did those fleets push their ships harder as they had a range of customers to serve rather than being part of a vertical integration business model? Did either type of fleet structure encourage sailing despite the potential hazards more than the other? Or did it just come down to the personality traits of each individual shipmaster?