Stanvac's North China Division, based in Shanghai, owned hundreds of river-going vessels, including motor barges, steamers, launches, tugboats, and tankers. Up to 13 tankers operated on the Yangtze River, the largest of which were "Mei Ping" (), "Mei Hsia" (), and "Mei An" (). All three were destroyed in the 1937 USS "Panay" incident. "Mei An" was launched in 1901 and was the first vessel in the fleet. Other vessels included "Mei Chuen", "Mei Foo", "Mei Hung", "Mei Kiang", "Mei Lu", "Mei Tan", "Mei Su", "Mei Xia", "Mei Ying", and "Mei Yun". "Mei Hsia", a tanker, was specially designed for river duty and was built by New Engineering and Shipbuilding Works of Shanghai, who also built the 500-ton launch "Mei Foo" in 1912. "Mei Hsia" ("Beautiful Gorges") was launched in 1926 and carried 350 tons of bulk oil in three holds, plus a forward cargo hold, and space between decks for carrying general cargo or packed oil. She had a length of , a beam of , a depth of , and had a bullet-proof wheelhouse. "Mei Ping" ("Beautiful Tranquility"), launched in 1927, was designed off shore, but assembled and finished in Shanghai. Its oil-fuel burners came from the U.S. and water-tube boilers came from England.