LAKE TANKER PEDERNALES

The two photo below are the Lake Tanker Pedernales, which was one of the early Lake Tankers bringing crude oil to the Lago Refinery from Lake Maracaibo.  On the night of the German U-Boat attack four tankers were torpedo and three of them sank.  This tanker was the first one to be torpedo, the Oranjestad being the second.  Pedernales was hit between the mid-ship section and the aft section and did not sink although she did catch on fire.  The crew managed to abandoned ship and left the burning hulk floating.  The following day, after the fire had burned out, she was taken under tow and brought just off of Palm Beach, where she was cut in two, the torpedoed section removed and the two remaining sections (The aft end with the engine and the bow) were towed to the Lago Dry Dock, the aft end and the bow were rejoined, welded together, a temporary wheel house was added and she was taken to Baltimore under her own steam.  In Baltimore a new mid-ship section was installed and she returned to service.  Link to the story of the U-Boat attack. (LINK TO U-156)   With the torpedo attack on the Lago Refinery thus began the total night time black out for the refinery and Colony that lasted until the end of the war.

 
Lake Tanker Pedernales, after being torpedoed, cut in half, taken to the US, had a new mid-section installed and returned to service.  When torpedoed she was in Andrew Weir colours and registered in London.  This information supplied by Bryan McCall.
 
Lake Tanker Pedernales, after she was torpedoed.
Deck of Lake Tanker Pedernales after she was torpedoed.
 
Another view of the deck of the Lake Tanker Pedernales sent in by Ted Gibbons.  Here you can see the riveted steel sheets that formed the side of the ship bent every which way.

Here you see the bow and a part of the mid-ship, minus the bridge tied up to a pier at lago and waiting to be joined to the aft end with the engine.

 
Lake Tanker Pedernales as she leaves for the US to have her mid-section reinstalled.  The box added to the mid-ship section (compare these photos to the one of the bow tied to the pier, above) is a temporary bridge which was added for the trip and constructed of wood.
A stamp issued by the Aruba Post Office showing the Pedernales after being torpedoed, as well as the torpedo that landed on Eagle Beach.  The photos above of the Pedernales, as well as the photo to the torpedo on the beach found on the LAGO AT WAR, WORLD WAR II page must have been used by the artist when he did the stamp drawings.
Today, May 17,2008, Willem Donck sent me an email saying:  "I just returned from Aruba and at your request I made some pictures particularly of the debris of the Pedernales. These wreck parts (of the mid-section) are at a depth of 25 ft. Feel free to use these pictures for your website."

 

 

 

Great photos, thanks so much Willem. Dan Jensen
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