Vane Brothers

The tanker Vane Brothers was built in 1941 in Baltimore on Caroline Street in Fells Point at the American Electric Welding Company.  Measuring 39’ long, 13’ abeam, and 5’3” deep and carrying 6,300 gallons of oil, she was sold to Aqua Tankers in 1981; however, she was repurchased by Vane in 1999.

Her primary job was to deliver diesel fuel to ships, tugs, and barges for galley ranges and generators along with cranes and shoreside tanks for stevedoring firms.  She operated in the Baltimore harbor and delivered galley oil to ships with a 150’ hose.  Norman Horstman, longtime captain of the Vane Brothers, spent the first 20 years of his career with Vane aboard schooners.  She was the smallest all oil tanker on registry in the United States and was the third oil boat owned by Vane, following the Charles Wright and the Charles
Wright II, built in 1919 and 1920.