SS ''Pedernales'' was a

lake tanker Lake tankers were small (up to 5,000 ton) specially designed shallow- draft tanker ships that carried the crude oil, pumped from beneath Lake Maracaibo in Venezuela, to the three off-shore refineries located on the Dutch islands of Aruba and Cu ...

of the

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposing ...

and post war eras. She was built in 1938 in

Monfalcone Monfalcone (; Bisiacco: ; fur, Monfalcon; sl, Tržič; archaic german: Falkenberg) is a town and ''comune'' of the province of Gorizia in Friuli Venezia Giulia, northern Italy, located on the Gulf of Trieste. Monfalcone means 'falcon mountain ...

Italy Italy ( it, Italia ), officially the Italian Republic, ) or the Republic of Italy, is a country in Southern Europe. It is located in the middle of the Mediterranean Sea, and its territory largely coincides with the homonymous geographical ...

, and sailed under the

British British may refer to: Peoples, culture, and language * British people, nationals or natives of the United Kingdom, British Overseas Territories, and Crown Dependencies. ** Britishness, the British identity and common culture * British English, ...

flag. ''Pedernales'' was severely damaged in a torpedo attack on 16 February 1942 while anchored at Aruba. The damaged ship was cut into three sections. The fore and aft sections were joined, and the ship made her way to

Baltimore Baltimore ( , locally: or ) is the List of municipalities in Maryland, most populous city in the U.S. state of Maryland, fourth most populous city in the Mid-Atlantic (United States), Mid-Atlantic, and List of United States cities by popula ...

Maryland Maryland ( ) is a state in the Mid-Atlantic region of the United States. It shares borders with Virginia, West Virginia, and the District of Columbia to its south and west; Pennsylvania to its north; and Delaware and the Atlantic Ocean to ...

, to be rebuilt. The middle section was left in Aruba and, after being used for a number of years as a target by

Dutch Dutch commonly refers to: * Something of, from, or related to the Netherlands * Dutch people () * Dutch language () Dutch may also refer to: Places * Dutch, West Virginia, a community in the United States * Pennsylvania Dutch Country People E ...

gunners after the war, has become a scuba diving site. The rebuilt portion of the tanker, later renamed ''Esso Pedernales'' and ''Katendrecht'', was scrapped in 1959.

Career

SS ''Pedernales'' was completed in September 1938 by

Cantieri Riuniti dell'Adriatico Cantieri Riuniti dell'Adriatico ("United Shipbuilders of the Adriatic") was an Italian manufacturer in the sea and air industry which was active from 1930 to 1966. This shipyard is now owned by Fincantieri. History In 1930, Stabilimento Tecnic ...

. She operated as a lake tanker, sailing from Lake Maracaibo in

Venezuela Venezuela (; ), officially the Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela ( es, link=no, República Bolivariana de Venezuela), is a country on the northern coast of South America, consisting of a continental landmass and many islands and islets in th ...

to the refinery at Aruba. On the morning of 16 February 1942, , under the command of ''

Kapitänleutnant ''Kapitänleutnant'', short: KptLt/in lists: KL, ( en, captain lieutenant) is an officer grade of the captains' military hierarchy group () of the German Bundeswehr. The rank is rated OF-2 in NATO, and equivalent to Hauptmann in the Heer an ...

Werner Hartenstein Werner Hartenstein (27 February 1908 – 8 March 1943) was a German naval officer during World War II who commanded the U-boat . He was a recipient of the Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross, the highest award in the military and paramilitary ...

, commenced an attack on oil tankers at anchor in San Nicolas Harbor in Aruba as part of

Operation Neuland Operation Neuland (New Land) was the German Navy's code name for the extension of unrestricted submarine warfare into the Caribbean Sea during World War II. U-boats demonstrated range to disrupt United Kingdom petroleum supplies and United ...

. Among other ships, ''Pedernales'' was torpedoed and damaged; it was later beached by two tugs and abandoned. Later, the hulk was towed to the Lago Dry Dock on Aruba where she was cut into three sections. The fore and aft sections were joined and the ship made way under her own power to Baltimore, Maryland, where she had a new midsection installed, and continued her career. After the end of World War II, the tanker continued sailing under her same name until 1957 when she was renamed ''Esso Pedernales''. After another renaming the following year to ''Katendrecht'', she was scrapped at

Rotterdam Rotterdam ( , , , lit. ''The Dam on the River Rotte'') is the second largest city and municipality in the Netherlands. It is in the province of South Holland, part of the North Sea mouth of the Rhine–Meuse–Scheldt delta, via the ''"Ne ...

in 1959.

Wreck

The damaged middle section of ''Pedernales'' was towed away from the dry dock and was used for many years as a target by

Dutch Navy The Royal Netherlands Navy ( nl, Koninklijke Marine, links=no) is the naval force of the Kingdom of the Netherlands. During the 17th century, the navy of the Dutch Republic (1581–1795) was one of the most powerful naval forces in the world an ...

aircraft. The bombing practice scattered the remnants of the wreck into eight sections of wreckage. Portions of the wreck are a popular scuba diving attraction. The three largest sections of the wreck are used daily by local dive operators. The remnants rest in of water at .

Notes

{{DEFAULTSORT:Pedernales, Ss Lake tankers World War II merchant ships of the United Kingdom World War II shipwrecks in the Caribbean Sea Wreck diving sites 1938 ships Underwater diving sites in the Caribbean