AH-WR-0704

Varanger

Motor Tanker · Norway · Lost 1942 · The New Jersey Coast

A Norwegian tanker torpedoed three times off Sea Isle City in January 1942, breaking into three sections with her entire crew surviving.

Become Captain of Record See Shipwreck on Map

Artistic recreation based on recorded historical documents.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

Historically Reconstructed. Drawn from partial documentation of this vessel together with her known class and configuration. See the documented evidence.

The Vessel and Her Loss

Varanger was a Norwegian motor tanker carrying fuel oil from Curacao to New York when U-130 hit her with three torpedoes off the New Jersey coast in January 1942. The ship broke into three parts and burned, but all 40 crew escaped in lifeboats and a motorboat, eventually reaching the Coast Guard station at Sea Isle City. The wreck remains a popular deep dive off the southern New Jersey coast.

Vessel

Built: 1925
Builder: Nederlandsche Scheepsbouw Mij NV
Yard: Amsterdam, Netherlands
Material: Steel
Length: 470 ft
Beam: 60 ft
Tonnage: 9305
Propulsion: Motor, twin screw
Owners: A/S Westfal-Larsen & Co, Bergen

Loss

Date: January 25, 1942
Cause: Enemy action
Location: About 28 miles southeast of Atlantic City, New Jersey
Water: Atlantic Ocean
Voyage: Curacao → New York
Cargo: 12,750 tons of fuel oil
Aboard: 40
Lives lost: 0
Master: Carl Horne

The Wreck Today

Depth: 140 ft
Condition: Upright, partially intact but heavily damaged by torpedoes; broke into three sections
Orientation: Not established
Discovered: Not established
Protection: Not established