SS ''Pedernales'' was a lake tanker of the

World War II 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 ...

and post war eras. She was built in 1938 in

Monfalcone Monfalcone (; Venetian language#Regional variants, Bisiacco: ; ; ; archaic ) is a town and (municipality) in the Province of Gorizia, Regional decentralization entity of Gorizia in Friuli-Venezia Giulia, northern Italy, located on the Gulf of Tr ...

Italy Italy, officially the Italian Republic, is a country in Southern Europe, Southern and Western Europe, Western Europe. It consists of Italian Peninsula, a peninsula that extends into the Mediterranean Sea, with the Alps on its northern land b ...

, 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. * British national identity, the characteristics of British people and culture ...

flag. ''Pedernales'' was severely damaged in a torpedo attack on 16 February 1942 while anchored at

Aruba Aruba, officially the Country of Aruba, is a constituent island country within the Kingdom of the Netherlands, in the southern Caribbean Sea north of the Venezuelan peninsula of Paraguaná Peninsula, Paraguaná and northwest of Curaçao. In 19 ...

. The damaged ship was cut into three sections. The fore and aft sections were joined, and the ship made her way to

Baltimore Baltimore is the most populous city in the U.S. state of Maryland. With a population of 585,708 at the 2020 census and estimated at 568,271 in 2024, it is the 30th-most populous U.S. city. The Baltimore metropolitan area is the 20th-large ...

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

. She operated as a lake tanker, sailing from

Lake Maracaibo Lake Maracaibo () is located in northwestern Venezuela, between the states of Zulia, Trujillo, and Mérida. While Maracaibo is commonly referred to as a lake, its current hydrological characteristics may better classify it as estuary and/or ...

Venezuela Venezuela, officially the Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela, is a country on the northern coast of South America, consisting of a continental landmass and many Federal Dependencies of Venezuela, islands and islets in the Caribbean Sea. It com ...

to the refinery at

. On the morning of 16 February 1942, , under the command of ''

Kapitänleutnant , short: KptLt/in lists: KL, ( or ''lieutenant captain'') is an officer grade of the captains' military hierarchy group () of the modern German . The rank is rated Ranks and insignia of NATO navies' officers, OF-2 in NATO, and equivalent to i ...

'' Werner Hartenstein, commenced an attack on oil tankers at anchor in San Nicolas Harbor in

as part of Operation Neuland. 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 ( , ; ; ) is the second-largest List of cities in the Netherlands by province, city in the Netherlands after the national capital of Amsterdam. It is in the Provinces of the Netherlands, province of South Holland, part of the North S ...

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 (, ) is the Navy, maritime service branch of the Netherlands Armed Forces. It traces its history to 8 January 1488, making it the List of navies, third-oldest navy in the world. During the 17th and early 18th centurie ...

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