The Antilla, also known as the German Freighter Wreck, or Ghost Ship, was
397 feet long, had a 55.4 foot beam, weighed 2,164 net tons, and 4,400
gross tons. She was built in 1939 by Finkenwarder at Hamburg and was
powered by two steam turbines.
Although she was a brand new German
vessel, the Antilla was sunk intentionally but not to make a dive site or fish
haven. She was an unarmed ship used by the Germans to supply their
submarines during WW II and was nick-named Ghost Ship by the allies
who were never able to locate and attack the ship outside of neutral waters.
When Germany invaded the Netherlands on May 10, 1940, the relationship between the two nations was obviously strained. As part of the Kingdom of the Netherlands, this extended to Aruba. The Antilla was anchored off the coast of Aruba at the time. A contingent of Dutch Marines told the Antilla to surrender, the captain asked for extended time the Dutch accepted and the Marines gave the ship 24 hours to surrender.
The Antilla was fairly new at the time, and rather than see her turned over to the enemy, the Captain decided to scuttle the ship. After putting the crew ashore, he heated up the boilers, which were amidships, and opened the seacock. When the cold sea water hit the hot boilers, they exploded, ripping the ship in half. It sank in eight minutes.
It lies on its port side at a maximum depth of 55 feet, though it can readily be seen from the surface. Its location is approximately N 12.60175 W 070.05815.
Unfortunately over the last few years the Antilla has begun to collapse, the ship used to be open to special wreck penetration scuba diving but now after the hull has been weakened by storms it is collapsing on a daily basis. This means it is unsafe to go inside the wreck.
Many marine lifeforms have made their home on the ship.
