SS Heredia
Steam Merchant · United States · Lost 1942 · The Gulf of Mexico
A United Fruit Company steamer torpedoed off Louisiana in 1942, rediscovered fifty years later by divers chasing an unexplained oil sheen.
Become Captain of RecordSee Shipwreck on Map
The Vessel and Her Loss
SS Heredia was a United Fruit Company steamer carrying bananas, coffee, and passengers from Central America toward New Orleans when U-506 torpedoed her in May 1942. She sank in three minutes near Ship Shoal, and 36 of the 62 aboard were lost. The wreck lay unidentified until a 1992 oil leak led divers to confirm her identity.
Vessel
- 1908
- Workman, Clark & Co
- Belfast, Ireland
- Steel
- 410 ft
- Not established
- 4732
- Steam, single screw
- United Fruit Company
Loss
- May 19, 1942
- Enemy action
- Two miles southeast of Ship Shoal Buoy, off Louisiana
- Gulf of Mexico
- Puerto Barrios, Guatemala, via Corpus Christi → New Orleans, Louisiana
- Bananas and coffee
- 62
- 36
- Erwin F. Colburn
The Wreck Today
- 90 ft
- Largely intact on the seabed; identified from an oil leak reported by fishermen decades later.
- Not established
- 1992
- Not established
Position
- 28.88° N 91.05° W
- Approximate position
- Ship Shoal, off Louisiana
Uboat.net position; some sources give a slightly different nearby figure.
Evidence
Overall confidence: Documented (85/100)
uboat.net Allied Ships Hit by U-boats
Attack narrative, casualties, route.
Bureau of Ocean Energy Management
Wreck identification and Gulf U-boat context.
Houma Courier (Historic New Orleans Collection reporting)
Rediscovery account and identification.
