Storm oil is

oil An oil is any nonpolar chemical substance that is composed primarily of hydrocarbons and is hydrophobic (does not mix with water) & lipophilic (mixes with other oils). Oils are usually flammable and surface active. Most oils are unsaturated ...

used to calm an area of water. It has been claimed that it has been used to calm seas to facilitate rescues. Oil was usually carried in a bag which would be released onto the water or in a container which would slowly deploy the oil.

Description

Steamship A steamship, often referred to as a steamer, is a type of steam-powered vessel, typically ocean-faring and seaworthy, that is propelled by one or more steam engines that typically move (turn) propellers or paddlewheels. The first steamship ...

s and lifeboats from many countries were required to carry them until the end of the 20th century. The

United States Maritime Service The United States Maritime Service (USMS) was established in 1938 under the provisions of the Merchant Marine Act of 1936 as voluntary training organization to train individuals to become officers and crewmembers on merchant ships that form the ...

Training Manual included storm oil in the list of general equipment aboard lifeboats, while the

Merchant Shipping Act Merchant Shipping Act (with its variations) is a stock short title used in Malaysia and the United Kingdom for legislation relating to merchant shipping. Merchant shipping acts and regulations also exist as well in other countries, and they ar ...

1894 mandated them for British vessels until 1998. Frequently

vegetable oil Vegetable oils, or vegetable fats, are oils extracted from seeds or from other parts of fruits. Like animal fats, vegetable fats are ''mixtures'' of triglycerides. Soybean oil, grape seed oil, and cocoa butter are examples of seed oils, or f ...

fish oil Fish oil is oil derived from the tissues of oily fish. Fish oils contain the omega-3 fatty acids eicosapentaenoic acid (EPA) and docosahexaenoic acid (DHA), precursors of certain eicosanoids that are known to reduce inflammation in the b ...

was used as a cheap form of oil. Oil has a damping effect on water which absorbs some of the energy of the waves. It also quickly forms a thin layer over a large expanse of the surface of the water through a process of

deprotonation Deprotonation (or dehydronation) is the removal (transfer) of a proton (or hydron, or hydrogen cation), (H+) from a Brønsted–Lowry acid in an acid–base reaction.Henry Jakubowski, Biochemistry Online Chapter 2A3, https://employees.csbsju. ...

. This prevents wind from being able to get traction along the water and thus waves cannot form as easily.

History

The practice can be traced back as far as 350 BC with

Aristotle Aristotle (; grc-gre, Ἀριστοτέλης ''Aristotélēs'', ; 384–322 BC) was a Greek philosopher and polymath during the Classical period in Ancient Greece. Taught by Plato, he was the founder of the Peripatetic school of ...

and to the early 1st century with

Pliny the Elder Gaius Plinius Secundus (AD 23/2479), called Pliny the Elder (), was a Roman author, naturalist and natural philosopher, and naval and army commander of the early Roman Empire, and a friend of the emperor Vespasian. He wrote the encyclopedic ' ...

. Aristotle described the use of oil being spread on the eyes of divers with the intention to "quiet the surface and permit the rays of light to reach them".

Whaling Whaling is the process of hunting of whales for their usable products such as meat and blubber, which can be turned into a type of oil that became increasingly important in the Industrial Revolution. It was practiced as an organized industr ...

vessels are purported to have dangled blubber around the hull when in heavy seas to help calm the ocean.

Benjamin Franklin Benjamin Franklin ( April 17, 1790) was an American polymath who was active as a writer, scientist, inventor, statesman, diplomat, printer, publisher, and political philosopher. Encyclopædia Britannica, Wood, 2021 Among the leading int ...

famously investigated the calming properties of oil during his visits to England in the mid-18th century, demonstrating the effect on lakes such as

Derwentwater Derwentwater, or Derwent Water, is one of the principal bodies of water in the Lake District National Park in north west England. It lies wholly within the Borough of Allerdale, in the county of Cumbria. The lake occupies part of Borrowdal ...

. Communications between Franklin and William Brownrigg show that Franklin had first encountered the phenomenon aboard a ship in 1757 and investigated it several years later alongside Brownrigg and Sir John Pringle. This led to the discussion of the topic at the

Royal Society The Royal Society, formally The Royal Society of London for Improving Natural Knowledge, is a learned society and the United Kingdom's national academy of sciences. The society fulfils a number of roles: promoting science and its benefits, re ...

on 2 June 1774.

References

{{reflist, refs= {{cite news , url=https://timesmachine.nytimes.com/timesmachine/1892/12/14/106090152.pdf , title=Waves Subdued By Oil , work=New York Times , date=14 December 1892 , accessdate=24 September 2013 {{cite web , url=http://www.usmm.org/lifeboat2.html , title=Lifeboats, Lifeboat Equipment and Rafts , publisher=www.USMM.org , accessdate=24 September 2013 {{cite web , url=http://collections.rmg.co.uk/collections/objects/17688.html , title=bag, oil , publisher=National Maritime Museum , accessdate=26 January 2018 {{cite web , url=https://response.restoration.noaa.gov/about/media/some-situations-ships-dump-oil-purpose.html , title=In Some Situations, Ships Dump Oil on Purpose , publisher=

Office of Response and Restoration The Office of Response and Restoration (OR&R) is a program office of the National Ocean Service and a natural resource trustee that protects the coastal environment from oil and hazardous material releases and restores damage caused by such release ...

, accessdate=26 January 2018 {{cite web , url=http://www.deepseanews.com/2010/06/pouring-oil-on-troubled-waters/ , title=Pouring Oil on 'Troubled Waters' , publisher=Deep Sea News , date=23 June 2010 , accessdate=26 January 2018 {{Cite journal, author=Peter Behroozi , title=The calming effect of oil on water , journal=American Journal of Physics , volume=75 , issue=5 , pages=407–414 , date=May 2007 , doi=10.1119/1.2710482 , bibcode=2007AmJPh..75..407B {{Cite journal, author=Joost Mertens , title=Oil on troubled waters: Benjamin Franklin and the honor of Dutch Seamen , url=https://physicstoday.scitation.org/doi/10.1063/1.2180175 , journal=Physics Today , volume=59 , issue=1 , pages=36–41 , date=January 2006 , doi=10.1063/1.2180175 , bibcode=2006PhT....59a..36M {{cite web , author=Rob Waugh , url=https://uk.news.yahoo.com/watch-as-a-tablespoonful-of-olive-oil-calms-the-waves-on-a-whole-lake-121653278.html?soc_src=social-sh&soc_trk=tw , title=Watch as a tablespoonful of olive oil calms the waves on a whole lake , publisher=Yahoo! , date=15 December 2016 , accessdate=28 January 2018 {{cite web , url=https://uk.news.yahoo.com/watch-as-a-tablespoonful-of-olive-oil-calms-the-waves-on-a-whole-lake-121653278.html?soc_src=social-sh&soc_trk=tw , title=From Benjamin Franklin to William Brownrigg, 7 November 1773 , publisher=Founders Online , accessdate=28 January 2018 History of navigation Maritime history Oils