SS ''Faja de Oro'' ("Strip of Gold", which is a petroleum rich area in Mexico) was an

oil tanker An oil tanker, also known as a petroleum tanker, is a ship designed for the bulk cargo, bulk transport of petroleum, oil or its products. There are two basic types of oil tankers: crude tankers and product tankers. Crude tankers move large quant ...

built in 1914. It sailed for a number of companies, and survived service in the

First World War World War I or the First World War (28 July 1914 – 11 November 1918), also known as the Great War, was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War I, Allies (or Entente) and the Central Powers. Fighting to ...

, only to be torpedoed and sunk by a German submarine during the

Second World War World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...

while sailing under the Mexican flag in the

Gulf of Mexico The Gulf of Mexico () is an oceanic basin and a marginal sea of the Atlantic Ocean, mostly surrounded by the North American continent. It is bounded on the northeast, north, and northwest by the Gulf Coast of the United States; on the southw ...

. Its sinking contributed to Mexico's decision to enter the war on the side of the

Allies An alliance is a relationship among people, groups, or states that have joined together for mutual benefit or to achieve some common purpose, whether or not an explicit agreement has been worked out among them. Members of an alliance are calle ...

. ''Faja de Oro'' was originally built by R. W. Hawthorn Leslie & Company,

Hebburn-on-Tyne Hebburn is a town in the South Tyneside borough of Tyne and Wear, England. It was formerly in County Durham until 1974 with its own urban district from 1894 until 1974. It is on the south bank of the River Tyne between Gateshead and Jarrow and o ...

as ''Barneson'', for service with Bank Line Ltd (Andrew Weir & Co), of

Glasgow Glasgow is the Cities of Scotland, most populous city in Scotland, located on the banks of the River Clyde in Strathclyde, west central Scotland. It is the List of cities in the United Kingdom, third-most-populous city in the United Kingdom ...

. It was taken over by Andrew Weir & Co in 1915 and renamed ''Oyleric''. It was sold in 1937 to the

Italian Italian(s) may refer to: * Anything of, from, or related to the people of Italy over the centuries ** Italians, a Romance ethnic group related to or simply a citizen of the Italian Republic or Italian Kingdom ** Italian language, a Romance languag ...

company Ditta G.M. Barbagelata, of

Genoa Genoa ( ; ; ) is a city in and the capital of the Italian region of Liguria, and the sixth-largest city in Italy. As of 2025, 563,947 people live within the city's administrative limits. While its metropolitan city has 818,651 inhabitan ...

, and was renamed ''Genoano''. it was seized by the

Mexican government The Federal government of Mexico (alternately known as the Government of the Republic or ' or ') is the national government of the United Mexican States, the central government established by its constitution to share sovereignty over the republ ...

while docked at

Tampico Tampico is a city and port in the southeastern part of the Mexican state of Tamaulipas. It is located on the north bank of the Pánuco River, about inland from the Gulf of Mexico, and directly north of the state of Veracruz. Tampico is the fif ...

Tamaulipas Tamaulipas, officially the Free and Sovereign State of Tamaulipas, is a state in Mexico; one of the 31 states which, along with Mexico City, comprise the 32 federal entities of Mexico. It is divided into 43 municipalities. It is located in nor ...

, on 8 December 1941 and renamed ''Faja de Oro''. It was operated by Petróleos Mexicanos (

Pemex Pemex (a portmanteau of Petróleos Mexicanos, which translates to ''Mexican Petroleum'' in English; ) is the Mexico, Mexican State ownership, state-owned Petroleum industry, petroleum corporation managed and operated by the government of Mexico, ...

), and was homeported in Tampico. ''Faja de Oro'' was sailing unescorted from

Marcus Hook, Pennsylvania Marcus Hook is a Borough (Pennsylvania), borough in Delaware County, Pennsylvania, Delaware County, Pennsylvania, United States. The population was 2,397 at the 2010 United States Census, 2010 census. The current mayor is Gene Taylor. The boroug ...

, back to Tampico in May 1942 under he command of dec. Alm Gustavo Martinez Trejo. It was not carrying any cargo, and was sailing in

ballast Ballast is dense material used as a weight to provide stability to a vehicle or structure. Ballast, other than cargo, may be placed in a vehicle, often a ship or the gondola of a balloon or airship, to provide stability. A compartment within ...

. It was sighted by the , under Kapitänleutnant Hermann Rasch, and was torpedoed at 04.21 hours on 21 May 1942, while off

Key West Key West is an island in the Straits of Florida, at the southern end of the U.S. state of Florida. Together with all or parts of the separate islands of Dredgers Key, Fleming Key, Sunset Key, and the northern part of Stock Island, it con ...

. The attack was made despite Mexican

neutrality Neutral or neutrality may refer to: Mathematics and natural science Biology * Neutral organisms, in ecology, those that obey the unified neutral theory of biodiversity Chemistry and physics * Neutralization (chemistry), a chemical reaction in ...

, presumably because the ship's nationality had been indiscernible in the dark. ''Faja de Oro'' was hit in the foreship by one of two torpedoes. ''U-106'' then fired a coup de grâce at 04.33 hours, which missed. A second was fired 20 minutes later, hitting it amidships and setting it on fire. It sank shortly afterwards with the loss of 10 of its crew. 27 survivors were later rescued. The attack had been observed by another German submarine, , which had also chased ''Faja de Oro'', but on noticing ''U-106'', had not attempted an attack. The sinking of ''Faja de Oro'', coming as it did a week after the sinking of the Mexican tanker on 14 May by

Reinhard Suhren Reinhard Johann Heinz Paul Anton Suhren (16 April 1916 – 25 August 1984) was a German U-boat commander in World War II and younger brother of ''Korvettenkapitän (Ing.)'' and Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross recipient Gerd Suhren. Suhren was ...

's contributed to Mexico's declaration of war on Germany on 1 June 1942.

Notes

References

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Faja de Oro 1942 in Mexico Military history of Mexico during World War II Ships of Mexico Shipwrecks in the Gulf of Mexico Ships sunk by German submarines in World War II World War II shipwrecks in the Caribbean Sea Maritime incidents in May 1942 Ships built on the River Tyne Oil tankers World War I merchant ships of the United Kingdom Tankers of the United Kingdom World War II merchant ships of Italy 1913 ships