Capt. Dan Berg's Wreck Valley Collection   

SAN JOSE

The steel hulled passenger freighter San Jose was built in 1904. She was 330 feet long, had a 44foot beam and displaced 3,358 tons. The San Jose was just one of many United Fruit Company steamers that sailed to South and Central America bringing bananas and other commercially important fruits to the U.S.

On January 17, 1942the San Jose was en-route to New York when she was rammed by the Santa Elisa. The collision did not immediately sink either vessel but it did start a fire aboard the Santa Elisa. The next day the Santa Elisa's fire was put out. The San Jose however was damaged beyond repair. Some claim that after her collision the San Jose was actually torpedoed. In either case the vessel now sits on the sandy bottom off Southern New Jersey.

Today the San Jose sits in 110 feet of water off Absecon Inlet NJ. Much of the wreck is intact.

Remember penetration into any shipwreck should only be done by those with proper training, experience and wreck diving equipment. Scuba equipment like powerful dive lights, navigation reels, dive knives as well as redundant air supply like a pony bottle or doubles are standard gear for wreck divers.

 

All photographs, sketches, images and text

Copyright Capt. Dan Berg / Aqua Explorers Inc

2745 Cheshire Dr
Baldwin NY 11510
E-Mail Wreckvalle@aol.com