Arabic (ship, 1903)
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The Arabic (II) was a 1903 posed in service passenger ship of the British shipping company White Star Line that as ocean liner in the North Atlantic between Europe and North America wrong. On August 19, 1915, the Arabic was sunk by a German submarine off the Irish coast . 44 people were killed, including two Americans, which again caused tensions between the governments of the United States and the German Empire and became known as the Arabic Case . The Arabic was the first ship to the White Star Line in World War lost.
The ship
The 15,801 GRT steamship was laid down in 1902 under the name Minnewaska as one of four new sister ships from the Atlantic Transport Line , a US shipping company based in Baltimore . While it was still being built, the ship was taken over by the White Star Line, renamed and launched on December 18, 1902. On June 21, 1903, the ship was completed under the name Arabic , and on June 26, 1903 it ran from Liverpool on its maiden voyage via Southampton to New York .
The Arabic was the second of three ships that the shipping company christened Arabic . The first Arabic (4,368 GRT) entered service in 1881 and was sold to Holland-America Line in 1890 , which renamed it Spaarndam . The third Arabic (17,327 GRT) served the Liverpool – New York route between 1921 and 1930. It was actually the Berlin (II) of North German Lloyd , which was commissioned in 1909 and had to give up the ship as part of war repairs.
For its maiden voyage , the Arabic ran out on June 26, 1903 (Liverpool – Southampton – New York). She was then used alternately on this route and on the Liverpool – Boston route:
- June 1903 - April 1905: Liverpool – Southampton – New York
- April 1905 - June 1907: Liverpool – Boston
- June 1907 - August 1911: Liverpool – Southampton – New York
- August 1911 - December 1914: Liverpool – Boston
- December 1914 - August 1915: Liverpool – Southampton – New York
Sinking
On Wednesday afternoon, August 18, 1915, the Arabic ran under the command of her long-time captain William Finch in Liverpool for another crossing to New York. There were 243 crew members and 180 passengers (132 second class, 48 third class) on board, including at least 29 Americans. In addition to the cargo, there were also 2,813 mail bags on board.
When the steamer passed the Irish south coast on the morning of the following day, August 19, it was sighted 50 nautical miles from the Old Head of Kinsale by the German submarine U 24 under the command of Lieutenant Rudolf Schneider . He gave the order to fire without warning. The submarine was registered on the Arabic and the captain turned, but the torpedo hit the ship of the line on starboard near the stern . Help was sent immediately and the lifeboats disembarked. The Arabic went down in just nine minutes at position 50.50N, 08.32W, which is why not all boats could be lowered in time.
44 people were killed in the sinking, including 25 crew members and 19 passengers. Among the dead passengers were two Americans, Dr. Edmund F. Woods from Wisconsin and Mrs. Josephine Sather Bruguière from New York. The latter was the mother of Francis Bruguière and the daughter of the Norwegian-American banker Peder Sather (1810-1886), on whom the professor title Sather Professor goes back. Captain Finch survived. Despite the proximity to land, the survivors had to wait four and a half hours for rescue ships to arrive. US President Woodrow Wilson instructed the Vice Consul in Queenstown , Lewis C. Thompson, to look after the American survivors.
There were also material losses during the sinking, including a statue of the ancient Egyptian official Nacht .
Political Consequences
After the Falaba (March 28, 1915) and the Lusitania (May 7, 1915), the sinking of the Arabic was the third time since the beginning of the war that American citizens were killed by the sinking of British passenger ships by German submarines.
The incident occurred shortly after the exchange of several notes between the US government under President Wilson and the German government under Kaiser Wilhelm II. In these notes Wilson demanded that no citizen of a neutral state, i.e. non-combatants , be harmed by the destruction of unarmed merchant ships may come. In particular, Wilson wanted to ensure that Americans could travel freely through the war zone on British ships. The US government felt provoked by the sinking of Arabic , as the Germans seemed to be ignoring American demands. Berlin initially rejected all allegations and took no responsibility for the Arabic incident. Then, however, the Germans tried to justify the sinking by claiming that the Arabic had tried to ram and sink the submarine. She also offered damages.
In the further course of World War I, unarmed British passenger ships continued to be sunk by German submarines, killing other Americans. This led to increasing outrage and indignation among the American population and to growing political tension between the USA and Germany. It was ultimately one of the reasons the US declared war on Germany on April 6, 1917.
The Arabic incident as well as claims for damages from survivors and bereaved of other ship sinkings concerned were negotiated after the war within the framework of the Berlin Treaty .