Cover
& Introduction

Sanctuary Program
Accomplishments

Beach & Coastal
Systems

Rocky Intertidal
& Subtidal Systems

Open Ocean
& Deep Water
Systems

The Physical
Environment

Wetlands
& Watersheds

Endangered
& Threatened
Species

Marine Mammals

Bird Populations

Harvested
Species

Human
Interactions

Site Profile:
The Montebello

Credits

Located just south of the Monterey Bay National Marine Sanctuary boundary are the remains of the Union Oil tanker Montebello. On December 22, 1941, the tanker loaded a cargo of 73,571 barrels (3,089,982 gallons) of Santa Maria crude oil at Port San Luis, California destined for Vancouver, British Columbia. With the outbreak of World War II just three weeks
earlier, there were reports of Japanese submarines attacking merchant ships along the California coast. On December 23 at 1:30 a.m., the tanker, now loaded with the cargo of oil, cleared the port proceeding on a northbound course.

Ordinary seaman Richard Quincy, then 22 years of age, recalled the events of the early morning. At 5:30 a.m. it was still dark, the Montebello's lights were blacked out and the vessel's position was nearing Piedras Blancas Point. Quincy, who was on watch, could make out an object on the water running in the tanker's wake but discounted it as a northbound coastal vessel. As the rising sun silhouetted the trailing vessel off the port quarter, Quincy realized it was a Japanese submarine low in the water. The submarine I-21 then repositioned to the starboard quarter between the tanker and mainland and fired a single torpedo into the Montebello.

The starboard side of the tanker's bridge structure is partially obscured by fishing nets and presents a challenge when navigating the shipwreck in a submersible. (Photo by Robert Schwemmer/NOAA)

At 5:55 a.m., the captain gave the order to abandon ship, and all 38 crewmen left the tanker in four lifeboats. They cleared the sinking tanker as the submarine descended below the surface to avoid detection from responding aircraft. The crew watched their ship settle in the bow, submerging below the surface at 6:45 a.m. As the bow started downward, the crew witnessed the stern clearing the ocean surface by 45 meters (150 feet).

For years, the Montebello was largely forgotten, except for local fishermen who found the site to be a productive fishing spot. It was not until members of the Central Coast Maritime Museum Association (CCMMA) considered nominating the shipwreck to the National Register, to properly memorialize the historic event and raise public awareness in the local community, that the tanker gained attention again. There was also growing concern about whether the shipwreck still contained its toxic cargo of crude oil, which was potentially threatening the nearby sanctuary waters.

The Montebello carried petroleum products to the Hawaiian Islands, Siberia, British Columbia and other ports in the Pacific. (Photo courtesy of the Vancouver Maritime Museum)

On November 7, 1996, working aboard the R/V Cavalier, Jack Hunter, president of the CCMMA, and his science team conducted four dives using the two-person Delta submersible. Based on their observations, it was determined that during the sinking, Montebello hit the ocean floor with enough force to drive the bow deep into the bottom sediment, separating at the torpedo impact zone. The aft 90 percent of the hull then recoiled back and settled squarely on its keel. More importantly, the investigation concluded that the torpedo had not penetrated the region of the tanker's oil cargo storage holds, but instead had actually struck forward in the pump room and dry storage cargo hold. It is Hunter's opinion that the crude oil cargo is still entombed in the tanker.

In September 2003, the Monterey Bay National Marine Sanctuary led an expedition to the shipwreck as part of its shipwreck-monitoring and site-characterization program. The expedition once again used the Delta submersible, launched from the R/V Velero IV.

The Montebello's 18-foot diameter bronze propeller, now idle, has been colonized by white plume anemones. (Photo by Robert Schwemmer/NOAA)

The goals of the science team, which was led by the author, were to record the structural integrity of the hull and note signs of degradation since the 1996 reconnaissance and to investigate tanker areas not recorded during the 1996 expedition. The team would also investigate and record signs of oil discharge as well as Beggiatoa bacteria feeding on hydrocarbons and would document the extensive marine life that has colonized at the shipwreck site.

Over the course of two days, eight successful dives revealed greater details of the tanker, with no observations of oil discharging into the water column. Further, no observations of Beggiatoa bacteria were reported. Observations made in the region of the starboard stern quarter suggest that steel corrosion may have advanced since the 1996 expedition. Sixteen fish species and 29 invertebrate species were recorded during two one-hour submersible dives. These numbers are conservative, since there are probably many more species, especially smaller and cryptic species. The sanctuary plans to continue monitoring the site of the Montebello in the future -- for signs of oil discharge or hull degradation.

For further information, please visit www.channelislands.noaa.gov/shipwreck/
dbase/montebello.html (for Montebello data) and www.channelislands.noaa.gov/shipwreck/
dbase/montebello_2.html (for the 1996 Montebello expedition).

Robert V. Schwemmer
National Marine Sanctuaries West Coast Regional Maritime Heritage Program