S.S. Oranjestad Propeller

THE PROPELLER 

The ‘SS Pedernales’ and ‘SS Oranjestad’ were lake tankers transporting crude oil from Lake Maracaibo in Venezuela to the Lago refinery in Aruba, owned and operated by The Lago Oil & Transport Company.

The ‘SS Pedernales’ was the first tanker to be struck by a torpedo from the German U-156. Though heavily damaged, the ship did not sink. The explosion forced the tanker to be cut in two: the bow and stern were joined together at the Lago shipyard and later sent to the United States for full reconstruction, while the shattered midsection was left behind near the shore.

‘SS Oranjestad’ was launched in 1927 and crossed the Atlantic to carry crude oil between Venezuela and Aruba. On February 16, 1942 she got torpedoed, where she was ankered, not far from the port of San Nicolas, and sunk to 225 ft in deep water.

A group of Aruban and Dutch men planned to retrieve one of the propellers. 

Percy Sweetman, Dick de Bruin & Andre Loonstra came with the idea to donate the propeller for a monument “Those who died serving in Aruba in World War II”.

On April 17, 2009, the propeller was successfully raised from the seabed.