AH-WR-0864

SS El Estero

General Cargo Steamship · Panama · Lost 1943 · New York Harbor

An ammunition ship deliberately flooded in New York Harbor in 1943 by Coast Guard volunteers and fireboats to prevent a wartime disaster in Manhattan.

Become Captain of Record See Shipwreck on Map

Artistic recreation based on recorded historical documents.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

Documented Likeness. Drawn from surviving builder's plans or clear photographs of this vessel. See the documented evidence.

The Vessel and Her Loss

Built in 1920 as a general cargo steamer, El Estero was loaded with over 1,300 tons of munitions at Bayonne's Caven Point pier in April 1943 when a boiler fire broke out. Coast Guard volunteers and harbor tugs towed the burning ship from the crowded pier and deliberately sank her by flooding, averting what could have been a catastrophic explosion near Manhattan. She was later refloated and expended as a naval gunnery target.

Vessel

Built: 1920
Builder: Downey Shipbuilding Company
Yard: Staten Island, New York
Material: Steel
Length: 335 ft
Beam: 47 ft
Tonnage: 4219
Propulsion: Triple expansion steam engine
Owners: William J. Rountree Company (formerly Southern Pacific Steamship Lines / United States Lines)

Loss

Date: April 24, 1943
Cause: Fire
Location: Caven Point pier, Bayonne, New Jersey, New York Harbor
Water: New York Harbor
Voyage: England
Cargo: Incendiary bombs, depth charges, half-ton blockbuster bombs, and small-arms ammunition
Aboard: Not established
Lives lost: Not established
Master: Not established

The Wreck Today

Depth: Not established
Condition: Not established
Orientation: Not established
Discovered: Not established
Protection: Not established

Position

Coordinates: 40.66° N 74.08° W
Accuracy: Approximate position
Nearest: Caven Point, Bayonne, New Jersey, New York Harbor
Region: New York Harbor

Wikipedia and a U.S. Naval Institute Naval History account describe the El Estero as deliberately flooded and sunk at the Caven Point dock in Bayonne, NJ during the April 24, 1943 fire; the coordinate approximates the Caven Point pier location where she was scuttled, not a surveyed wreck fix (she was later raised and used as a gunnery target elsewhere).