The S.S. Tilawa Ship

The SS Tilawa was carrying some sixty tonnes of silver bullion, the subject of which is now an international dispute between salvagers and the South African government. Despite the setting, international waters in a multi-national war; what exactly led to the Japanese submarine I-29 Commander to order not one, but two torpedoes to be launched at the Tilawa? 

The Tilawa was a British India Steam Navigation Company passenger ship, commissioned in 1924, that transported passengers, mail and cargo between various ports in India and East Africa . On November 23, 1942, she was sunk by a Japanese submarine in the Indian Ocean with high loss of life .

The 10,006 GRT steamship Tilawa was built at the Hawthorn, Leslie & Company shipyard in the English town of Hebburn on the Tyne and was launched on February 20, 1924. Lady Elsie Mackay (1893-1928), one of the first female pilots, who had previously been known as an actress under the stage name Poppy Wyndham, christened the ship. She was the daughter of James Mackay, 1st Earl of Inchcape , who had been Chairman of the British India Steam Navigation Company since 1913. On May 20, 1924 the ship was completed.  The passenger and cargo steamer was 137.5 meters long and 18.1 meters wide. The steam engines operated on a single screw and enabled a cruising speed of twelve knots (22.2 km/h). The passenger accommodations were designed for a total of 3290 travelers (60 in first, 74 in second and 3156 in third class).  The British India Steam Navigation Company (BISN), founded in 1856, specialized in the transport of passengers, cargo and mail between various ports in the Middle and Far East such as Calcutta , Bombay and Madras in India and Rangoon in Myanmar . However, the shipping company also maintained routes to Australia, Singapore and the Gulf of Aden.

On Monday November 23, 1942, the Tilawa was sunk in the Indian Ocean by the Japanese submarine I-29 . I-29 was an Imperial Japanese Navy submarine , codenamed Matsu (German: Kiefer). The 108.5 meter long B1-class submarine was completed on February 27, 1942 and assigned to the 14th U-boat Squadron. It was armed with 17 torpedoes. I-29 was capable of 23 knots (42.6 km/h) over water and still eight knots (14.8 km/h) under water. The submarine left Penang on November 11 under the command of Captain Teraoka Masao to attack enemy shipping lines in the Indian Ocean.  The Tilawa was en route from Bombay to Mombasa (Kenya) and Durban (South Africa) with 958 people and 6472 tons of cargo on board under the command of Captain F. Robertson . On board were 222 crew members, four artillerymen to defend the ship and 732 passengers. 1497 kilometers north-northeast of the Seychelles , I-29 fired a torpedo at the passenger liner, the explosion of which caused great panic among the passengers, after which they rushed to the lifeboats.  When the ship did not sink after being torpedoed, some passengers and crew tried to get back on board. I-29 then torpedoed the Tilawa again, which finally sank at ♁ 7 ° 45′  N , 61° 10′  E. 28 crew members and 252 passengers died as a result of the sinking. The light cruiser Birmingham of the Royal Navy and the passenger ship Carthage of the British shipping company P&O picked up the survivors.