Russian Freighter / USS San Pablo *
San Pablo "Russian Freighter"
Experience Level: Open Water to Advanced
Midshore Dive
The story of San Pablo proves that fact is often stranger than fiction. Launched from Belfast, Ireland, in 1915, San Pablo started her life as a fruit transport running bananas from Central America to the United States. Early during World War II she was sunk by a U-boat in Costa Rica and refloated. In August of 1944 amid rampant rumors of foreign spies and espionage, San Pablo exploded off Pensacola’s coast, hence her local name “Russian Freighter.”
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Recently declassified documents reveal that San Pablo was actually destroyed in a top-secret U.S. military operation testing an experimental weapon system. American agents sank the freighter with a radio-controlled boat carrying over 3,000 lbs. of explosives. Her wreckage is scattered across the seafloor where divers can explore boilers, refrigeration coils, and huge sections of twisted metal, all home to an impressive array of marine life.
Depth - 85'
Length - 315'
Beam - 44'
