| History | |
|---|---|
| Name |
|
| Owner | |
| Port of registry |  Tampico (1941–1942) |
| Builder | Delaware River Iron Shipbuilding & Engine Works, Chester, Pennsylvania |
| Launched | 17 November 1898 |
| Completed | December 1898 |
| Fate | Torpedoed and sunk on 27 June 1942 |
| General characteristics | |
| Type | Steamtanker |
| Tonnage | 2,005 GRT |
SSLas Choapas was anoil tanker built in 1898. It was originally commissioned byStandard Oil of New Jersey and built by theDelaware River Iron Ship Building and Engine Works ofChester, Pennsylvania as the SSAtlas. It was the first oil tanker to carry crude oil from Sabine Pass, originating from the Spindletop oil well in Texas in 11 march 1901, bound for Standard oil refinery in Philadelphia to be tested as a light illuminating purpose. Sold in the 1920s to the Italian company Ditta G.M. Barbagelata, ofGenoa. It was seized while docked atTampico, in Mexico on 8 December 1941 by the Mexican government and renamed, to be operated by Petróleos Mexicanos (Pemex), and homeported in Tampico.
On the afternoon of 27 June 1942,Las Choapas was hit by a single torpedo from theGerman submarine U-129, commanded by Hans Ludwig-Witt,[1] and sank in flames east ofTecolutla,Veracruz.[2] Another Mexican tanker, theTuxpam, was sank the same day, also byU-129[1].
20°15′N96°20′W / 20.250°N 96.333°W /20.250; -96.333
