Borinquen ( 1931 ) SS " Borinquen " was a passenger liner which was built in the United States in 1931 . After being requisitioned for troop transport service by the United States Army for World War II and continued service post war the ship was sold in 1949 and became the " Arosa Star " . After further sales and change in the cruise ship regulations the ship was again sold and grounded as " La Jenelle " on the California coast in 1970 . " Borinquen " . Originally named the " Borinquen " the ship was laid down in 1930 and completed in 1931 at the Bethlehem Shipbuilding Corporation of Quincy , Massachusetts . Lloyd ' s Register , 1930 — 31 shows the ship as ordered for the New York & Porto Rico Steamship Company with an original date of 1930 , both stricken , with a new date 1931 and " Coamo S . S . Corp " with New York & Porto Rico Steamship Company as manager , an entity of the Atlantic , Gulf & West Indies Steamship Lines ( AGWI ) . She began her working career on runs between Puerto Rico and New York until requisitioned for wartime service in 1941 . USAT " Borinquen " . During World War II she was requisitioned by the United States Army and operated by the Transportation Corps under bareboat charter as the USAT " Borinquen " with a capacity for 1 , 289 troops and 404 medical patients . USAT " Borinquen " one of the Army transports at Normandy . Beginning on 15 January 1942 the ship ' s operations centered on the North Atlantic with overseas ports in Iceland and Scotland until 10 May when she departed Scotland for Freetown and began a period of operation involving African ports . In June she began a voyage from Capetown to Aden and Suez before returning to West African operations . After a return to New York on 10 August she began operations beginning in November from Belfast and Liverpool involving North Africa and Britain with Oran , Casablanca and Algiers as usual ports before making port in Palermo , Sicily on 31 July 1943 . After a return to New York on 22 August 1943 operations were between ports in the United States and Britain until on 5 June she departed Swansea with the destination being listed as Port en Bessin , France that was the arrival off Normandy invasion beaches on 7 June 1944 . She made one more trip to Belfast returning to Grandcamp , France 9 July before beginning a shuttle service largely between Belfast and Liverpool until a return to New York 25 October 1944 . After departure from New York 3 January 1945 she again began a routine shuttle between Southampton and Le Havre until a run to Marseille in August and a return to New York on 31 August 1945 . She never came under attack by enemy forces , leading a charmed life and soon earned her nickname of " Lucky Star . " " Arosa Star " & other . In 1949 , she was sold to the Bull Steamship Company and renamed the " Puerto Rico " . In 1954 she was purchased by the Arosa Line ( " Compañía Internacional Transportadora " - owned by Nicolo Rizzi , a Swiss - Italian financier ) and operated as the extensively rebuilt " Arosa Star " until 1958 . As the " Arosa Star " she was the third largest ship of the Arosa Line , a Swiss cruise line , operating in the mid - 1950s . The 2 larger ships in the fleet were the flagship " Arosa Sky " , and the older " Arosa Sun " - originally the French - built . Then came the " Arosa Star " , with " Arosa Kulm " bringing up the rear . The " Arosa Star " was a ship which traveled several different routes , with many crew on board . At one time Kurt Ebberg was master , Alex Von Blessingh was first officer , Ernest Kuehne was chief engineer , Karl Nahrath was chief purser , and Hasso Wolf was the doctor of the ship . During at least part of this period , she transported immigrants from northern Europe to Canada and the United States , with regular ports of call at Halifax , Quebec City , Montreal and New York . With the advent of affordable air travel , the market for hauling immigrants quickly disappeared and the Arosa Line went bankrupt . In the years 1959 - 69 , she was operated for Eastern Steamship Lines as the " Bahama Star " , sailing primarily between Florida and the Bahamas . During this period , the " Bahama Star " managed to rescue 489 people from the burning " SS Yarmouth Castle " , another cruise ship ; 90 people perished in the blaze . In a bizarre twist of fate , this accident led to changes to the maritime regulations pertaining to such ships at the Geneva Convention of 1964 , outlawing the operation of passenger vessels with wooden super - structures . The cost of complying with the new regulations proved too expensive , so the ship was sold to the Western Steamship Company . She was renamed again , this time to " La Jenelle " . The new owners brought her to Port Hueneme , California , where they intended to sell her . Some say that plans were underway to make her a floating restaurant / casino . Others claim she was to be sold to an Indonesia n shipping firm , but neither plan materialized . By 1970 , she was anchored outside the harbor to avoid expensive docking fees while efforts were made to find a buyer . On April 13 , her luck ran out . That particular day was blustery , with a northwest gale ripping the tops off the waves . Seas broke everywhere , and nearly everyone was in port . " La Jenelle " s starboard anchor - the only one out – began to drag . There were only two crewmen aboard , and they were unable to stop her drift . Only 23 minutes Later , she struck the sandy beach west of the Port Hueneme breakwater , her stern just missing the rocks . " La Jenelle " began to list as she took on water . The crew stayed aboard , attempting to pump her dry so she could be righted , but the seas were pouring in from many smashed portholes and windows making their efforts fruitless . A helicopter arrived to rescue them as the ship settled further into the sand . The " La Jenelle " proved to be quite an attraction . Crowds flocked to Silver Strand Beach to see the stranded behemoth . Surfers paddled out to the stricken ship to wander among passageways canted at impossible angles , reminiscent of the film , Poseidon Adventure . Salvers picked over her bones , tearing away loose brass hardware and anything else of value . Her plates began to buckle under the incessant pounding of the surf as one compartment after the next was destroyed . A fire , perhaps started by vandals , gutted her interior . La Jenelle became a real hazard in time , for it was impossible to keep people off her . Eventually a souvenir hunter fell from the wreck and was drowned . By then , the owners had faded from the scene during the litigation that follows such an incident . A United States Navy team cut the top off the ship and brought in rocks to fill in the carcass . " La Jenelle " was transformed into a new arm for the Port of Hueneme breakwater .