AH-WR-0843

Palawan

Cargo Ship · United States · Lost 1977 · Southern California & Catalina

A stripped steel freighter hull deliberately sunk off Redondo Beach in 1977 to create one of the South Bay's best-known artificial reef dives.

Become Captain of Record See Shipwreck on Map

Artistic recreation based on recorded historical documents. See the documented evidence.

Interpretive Reconstruction, drawn to convey the vessel's era, type and general form. See the documented evidence.

The Vessel and Her Loss

Palawan was a large steel-hulled cargo ship stripped of her superstructure and engines before being sunk off Redondo Beach in 1977 as part of California's artificial reef program. Resting around 110 to 124 feet, the hull remains largely intact and divided into compartments, with the former engine room still identifiable by rows of valves. Decades of local fishing activity from the overhead barge Isle of Redondo left the wreck tangled with monofilament line.

Vessel

Built: 1944
Builder: Not established
Yard: Not established
Material: Steel
Length: 441 ft
Beam: 57 ft
Tonnage: 14250
Propulsion: Steam
Owners: Not established

Loss

Date: January 1, 1977
Cause: Intentional sinking
Location: Off Redondo Beach, Los Angeles County, California
Water: Pacific Ocean
Voyage: Not established
Cargo: Not established
Aboard: Not established
Lives lost: 0
Master: Not established

The Wreck Today

Depth: 110-124
Condition: Large intact steel hull divided into compartments, engine room identifiable by rows of valves; superstructure and engines were removed before sinking
Orientation: Not established
Discovered: Not established
Protection: Managed as part of California's artificial reef program

Position

Coordinates: 33.85° N 118.39° W
Accuracy: General area only
Nearest: Redondo Beach, California
Region: Southern California & Catalina

General area only: coordinate of Redondo Beach from the USGS Geographic Names Information System, marking the named place of loss recorded for this vessel (off Redondo Beach), not a surveyed wreck position.