Reefwander
Reefwander
Full calendar

Destinations at their peak each month

  1. Jan167
  2. Feb183
  3. Mar192
  4. Apr216
  5. May186
  6. Jun272
  7. Jul307
  8. Aug313
  9. Sep296
  10. Oct180
  11. Nov119
  12. Dec145

Americas

Europe, Africa & Middle East

Indo-Pacific

A green moray eel peers from a sandy hollow under a reddish coral ledge while a pink fish with a yellow-edged tail swims past — Aruba.

Aruba · Aruba · Wreck · Muck & macro

Pedernales

Scattered steel of a 1942 U-boat victim, alive with small critters

Area photo: Serge Melki from Indianapolis, USA · CC BY 2.0

The Pedernales is the remains of a tanker torpedoed by a U-boat in 1942, its salvaged bow and stern leaving only scattered pieces of the centre section. Lying in 7 m, it is a beginner wreck where the rubble seabed around the plates is as much the draw as the steel itself.

Also known as Pedernales wreck, Pedernalis.

Where it is and how deep

Depth profile of Pedernales: typical dive to 7 m (to 23 ft) 18 m · Open Water30 m · Advanced40 m · Recreational limit7 mtypical dive
Depths on a shared scale to 40 m (130 ft); dashed lines mark common certification limits.

No published position for this site — the map shows Aruba and its other sites; operators know the mooring.

The dive

Large pieces of the damaged centre section lie spread out between coral formations on a rubble seabed at 7 m, among them sections of cabins, wash basins and the tanker's pipeline system. Rather than a hull to swim along, the dive is a slow search low among the plates and the rubble, where shrimps, crabs, a tiny honeycomb moray eel and plenty of fish sit within easy reach of a macro lens.

The wreck

Vessel
Pedernales
Type
Tanker
Cause
Torpedoed by the type IXC U-boat U156 on 16 February 1942
Lies
Scattered parts of the centre section on a rubble seabed at 7 m

Marine life and season

  • Macro critters
Month-by-month season rating for Pedernales
JanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDec
GoodGoodGoodGoodGoodGoodGoodGoodGoodGoodGoodGood

Season follows Aruba: Diving runs year-round, and the island sits south of the hurricane belt, so no month stands out as a peak.

Dive videos

[HD] Wreck of the Pedernales (Aruba) · Jeb Fisher on YouTube

Sources

  1. Aruba – Isle of wrecks — Divernet
  2. Dive Sites - Red Sail Aruba — Red Sail Aruba

More dive sites in Aruba

Wreck

Debbie II

A sunken fuel barge lying right alongside Malmok reef

to 24 mintermediate

Wreck

Jane Sea

An upright cement carrier crusted in sponges and black gorgonians

10–30 mintermediate

Reef

Mangel Halto

A sheltered lagoon entry with a reef slope just beyond it

5–16 m · max 34 mbeginner

Wreck

SS Antilla

A wartime German freighter lying on its side in Malmok Bay

to 18 mbeginner

Similar dives elsewhere

Wreck

RMS Rhone — stern

RMS Rhone & Salt Island · British Virgin Islands

A 5 m (15 ft) propeller and open gearing in 9 m of water

to 9 mbeginner

Wreck

Amélie wreck

Martinique · Martinique

Scattered pieces of the Belem's sister ship in a shallow reserve

to 9 mbeginner

Wreck

Atlantic Princess

Bayahibe · Dominican Republic

A whole ship at 12 m, in water bright enough to read it from above

to 12 mbeginner

Wreck

Berwyn

Barbados · Barbados

A World War I French tug scuttled by her own crew

to 6 mbeginner