Lakeland Tankers LTL

The Lakeland Tankers flag in the NMGL collection is a seven-and-a-half-foot-long black swallowtail flag with a white circle in the center that contains the letters “L T L” in black text with the “T” being the largest letter in the center of the circle. After World War II, Cleveland Tankers’ managers decided to expand the fleet into Canada with a new company called Lakes Navigation Company Ltd. formed on September 5, 1946. Cleveland Tankers owned all the shares in the company, then the name changed to Lakeland Tankers Ltd. on November 30, 1946. This name change occurred after the tanker Steamer Makaweli was purchased from the Matson Navigation Company of San Francisco. Lakeland’s first president was George R. Donovan, Jr. Cleveland Tankers vessels consisted of black hulls with beige cabins and upper works, along with beige stacks with a black smoke band at the top. Beneath the smoke band was a light blue panel with the letters “CT” in light blue as well. Lakeland Tankers takes inspiration from the black hulls of its parent company as seen in the mostly black flag and use of text to denote which fleet the flag belongs to. 

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