tanker was at the Los Angeles Shipbuilding Corp. undergoing repairs she was boarded by a lone bandit who after shooting the third mate in the head proceeded to rob the safe in the captain's cabin and crew lockers getting away with nearly $3,000 in cash without being seen by any other witnesses. The police arrested a former Union Oil engine-room employee in connection with this robbery but he was later released due to lack of evidence against him. In the second half of 1939 Montebello made three trips to the East Coast of the United States carrying on each occasion nearly 11,000 tons of crude oil to Baltimore and fuel oil to Boston. In November 1940 the tanker was chartered for one trip by Imperial Oil Shipping Co. to carry oil from Peru to Vancouver. Upon completion of the trip she returned to her usual duties. Sinking Montebello was slated to depart from Port San Luis some time before midnight on 21 December 1941. However, due to crew demanding increased war risk insurance payments, the departure was delayed until a replacement crew could be brought in from Los Angeles. The replacements arrived in the late evening of December 22, at which point it was learned that the ship's acting master suddenly became ill and had to be replaced too. After finding and signing on a new master, correcting paperwork and making final preparations Montebello finally sailed out from Port San Luis around 02:00 on December 23. The tanker was under command of captain Olof Walfrid Eckstrom, had a crew of thirty-eight and carried a cargo of 75,346 barrels of crude oil bound for Vancouver. The weather was overcast with drizzle but good visibility. At approximately 05:30 while about four miles west off Cambria, the captain noticed what appeared to be a submarine on the vessel's starboard side about half a mile distant. The submarine, later determined to be I-21, could be clearly seen in the darkness, and her conning tower and a deck gun were easily discernible. The captain immediately ordered the ship full speed ahead and to assume a zigzag course and informed the Navy about submarine sighting. Approximately ten minutes later I-21 fired two torpedoes at the tanker. One torpedo proved to be a dud, but the second one struck Montebello around #2 hold. Fortunately for the crew the hold where the torpedo struck was dry and did