Aug 19, 2026
How Aruba Helped Fuel Victory: When World War II Reached Our Shores
Every day aboard Jolly Pirates, our guides introduce visitors to the SS Antilla.
Aruba’s famous World War II shipwreck resting in shallow turquoise waters. It’s a story we’ve shared with snorkelers for nearly 30 years.
But beneath the familiar story lies a much larger one.
In 1929, the Lago refinery opened in San Nicolas, drawing workers from across the Caribbean as it grew into one of the world’s largest. San Nicolas bustled as tankers came and went, carrying oil far beyond its shores.
When war broke out in Europe in 1939, no one could have imagined how quickly events so far away would transform Aruba’s place in the world. Almost overnight, our island’s oil took on extraordinary importance.
Together, Aruba and Curaçao supplied more than 80 percent of the Allies’ aviation and naval fuel. For two small Caribbean islands, it was an extraordinary role. Their oil helped keep Allied aircraft in the sky, ships at sea and forces supplied.
Aruba’s strategic importance was impossible for Nazi Germany to ignore.
As war consumed Europe, what had once seemed oceans away was drawing dangerously close to Aruba. French Marines arrived, followed by British and Scottish troops and later American forces, joining Dutch and Aruban defenders to protect the island.
What the Allies came to protect, Nazi Germany was determined to disrupt.
In 1942, Germany launched Operation Neuland, bringing U-boat warfare into the Caribbean. In the early hours of February 16, 1942, the war reached Aruba. A U-boat torpedoed the British Lago tankers SS Pedernales and SS Oranjestad and opened fire on the Lago refinery. Pedernales erupted in flames. Oranjestad became an inferno and sank.
The attack continued at Eagle Pier, where SS Arkansas was struck and caught fire. A second torpedo missed its target and came ashore at Eagle Beach, where it later exploded as Dutch Marines tried to disarm it, killing four.
Before dawn, ships burned offshore as tracer fire streaked toward the refinery. People made their way toward the coast to see what was happening. Wartime blackouts followed, darkening homes and streets across the island.
Lago continued supplying the Allies through the final years of the war, contributing to the liberation of Europe in 1945.
Traces of that history remain. Part of SS Pedernales still lies near the Antilla. In 2009, divers recovered a bronze propeller from SS Oranjestad, now part of a World War II memorial on Eagle Beach.
As you walk along Druif Beach by the Divi resorts, weathered pilings still rise from the turquoise water near the site of the old Eagle Pier. With pelicans perched above, the scene today looks more like a picture-perfect postcard than a place touched by wartime history.
About the Author
Carla Cavallaro has called Aruba home for nearly 40 years. As Brand Manager for Jolly Pirates Aruba and Kukoo Kunuku, she shares the island she loves with visitors through experiences, stories and the people and places that make Aruba special.
