THE OLIVE OIL SHIP
- gjohnston7
- Feb 17
- 5 min read
Updated: Feb 24
By Glenn T Johnston
Posted 2/17/2026
In ancient times, olive oil was one of the most valuable commodities of the Mediterranean world. Stored and transported in ceramic amphorae, it was used not only in cooking, but also for lighting, medicine, and religious rituals. Ships carrying olive oil were eagerly awaited in port, their cargo as valuable to ancient societies as petroleum products are today. Yesterday I got to engage with their modern equivalent. In my role as a ship visitor with the Baltimore International Seafarers Center, I brought Christmas gifts for the crew of the olive oil tanker STOLT AGUILA.
A medium-sized tanker, it was laden with olive oil bound for Baltimore. Docked at a narrow berth adjacent to Fort McHenry, the STOLT AGUILA unloaded 785,142 gallons of liquid gold into awaiting tanker trucks that carried it farther along the supply chain.
As I watched the unloading process that moved with clock-like precision, I was struck by the international nature of everything along our waterfront. The Japanese-built tanker was operated by a largely Filipino crew who served under Italian officers. The ship, operated by a Dutch company, sailed under the flag of the Cayman Islands and carried olive oil from Turkey, Tunisia, and Spain. Although I knew the exact number of gallons of oil that were being off-loaded, it was hard for me to comprehend what those gallons represented. What follows is a picture story that helps place those 785,142 gallons of olive oil into perspective.
I decided to try and understand the oil shipment through the eyes of a cook and the meals that might be made possible by its arrival. I went online and looked for recipes for dishes that used liberal amounts of olive oil. I chose five recipes that might make a meal: Spaghetti Aglio e Olio; a green salad with oil & vinegar dressing; homemade Italian bread with dipping oil; and Olive Oil Cake for dessert. The sixth recipe is pizza, New York-style, for lunch the next day.
Read on and see how one ship provided enough olive oil to enable meals for 30 million people.
Spaghetti Aglio e Olio is a popular dish that is made without traditional spaghetti sauce. Its ingredients are: one pound of spaghetti, a half cup of olive oil, a teaspoon of Kosher salt, four large cloves of garlic cleaned and sliced, a half-teaspoon of crushed red pepper flakes, half a cup of finely grated parmesan, and two tablespoons of chopped parsley.
30 million servings of this would use up four million cups of the olive oil unloaded.
A green salad with oil and vinegar dressing for 100 people. The ingredients for the oil and vinegar dressing are: 2 1/4 cups vinegar, 1 tbs salt, 2 1/4 cups water, 1/3 tsp garlic powder, 1/4 tsp ground black pepper, 1 tbs oregano, 2 cups olive oil.
30 million servings of this would use up 640,000 cups of STOLT AGUILA's olive oil load.
Bread is a necessary accompaniment to any Italian meal. Here the recipe calls for these ingredients for 32 servings of bread: 1 ½ tbs active dry yeast; ½ cup warm water; ½ tsp granulated sugar; 2 cups hot water hot to the touch, 3 tablespoons granulated sugar, 1 tablespoon salt, ½ cup olive oil; 5-6 cups all-purpose flour (add more if needed); 1 large egg white for brushing on loaves.
30 million servings of this would use up one million cups of the olive oil.
Dipping oil makes the warm crusty bread taste heavenly. Ingredients to serve four are: 1/2 cup olive oil; 1 clove minced garlic; 1 tsp dried oregano; 1 tsp dried basil; 1/2 tsp dried rosemary; 1/4 tsp crushed red pepper; 1/2 tsp salt; and 2 tsp of minced parsley.
30 million servings of this would use up 2,285,714 cups of the olive oil unloaded from the STOLT AGUILA the day I was there.
For dessert, Olive Oil Cake. Baked in a 9 X 13 in. dish, this cake serves 12. Ingredients: 1 cup olive oil; 3 large eggs; 1 cup brown sugar; 1/2 cup honey; 2 tbs lemon zest; 1 cup of milk; 1 tsp baking soda; 1 tsp baking powder; 2 cups of flour.
30 million servings of this would use up four million cups of the olive oil.
In addition to a main meal, I decided to also provide lunch the next day. It would be a 14" New York-style pizza that serves four. The ingredients: 1 tsp active dry yeast; ⅔ cup warm water (110 degrees F); 2 cups all-purpose flour; 1 tsp salt; 2 tbs olive oil; 1 (10 ounce) can tomato sauce; 1 pound shredded mozzarella cheese; ½ cup grated Romano cheese; ¼ cup chopped fresh basil; 1 tablespoon dried oregano; 1 teaspoon red pepper flakes; 2 tablespoons olive oil.
30 million servings of this would use up 1,500,000 cups of the olive oil unloaded from the STOLT AGUILA.
The population of the states colored red totals about 30,000,000.
The olive oil carried by the STOLT AGUILA would provide each person in those 23 states enough olive oil to eat a meal of spaghetti, salad, bread, and cake. The next day each could have pizza for lunch with the key ingredient of olive oil provided by the STOLT AGUILA as well.
Two thousand years ago, olive oil arrived in amphorae aboard wooden ships. Today it arrives in stainless steel tanks aboard modern chemical tankers. The vessels have changed, but the essential story has not. Ships still bring the Mediterranean to Baltimore, and from Baltimore to millions of tables across America.
Thanks for joining me on my attempt to understand what my eyes see.
