Boringia
Photo Courtesy of Library of Contemporary History, Stuttgart
| Name | Boringia | ||
| Type: | Motor merchant | ||
| Tonnage | 5,821 tons | ||
| Completed | 1930 - Burmeister & Wain´s Maskin & Skibsbyggeri A/S, Copenhagen | ||
| Owner | United Baltic Co, London | ||
| Homeport | Glasgow | ||
| Date of attack | 7 Oct 1942 | Nationality:  British | |
| Fate | Sunk by U-159 (Helmut Witte) | ||
| Position | 35.09S, 16.32E - Grid GR 5881 - See location on a map - | ||
| Complement | 60 (25 dead and 35 survivors). | ||
| Convoy | |||
| Route | Haifa - Capetown (7 Oct) - Hampton Roads - UK | ||
| Cargo | 3000 tons of potash, 2967 tons of cotton, 490 tons of gum and 18 tons of colonial produce | ||
| History | Completed in April 1930 as Boringia for A/S Det Østasiatiske Kompagni, Copenhagen. On 9 Apr, 1940, seized by the French authorities in Marseilles and on 6 July handed over to Britain in Singapore and transferred to the Ministry of War Transport (MoWT). On 1 Aug, 1942, the Boringia collided with the British steam merchant Kalewa (4389 grt), which sank in 30°16S/13°38E. The Boringia picked up all survivors and returned to Capetown, where she was repaired for two months. | ||
| Notes on loss | At 23.55 hours on 7 Oct, 1942, the unescorted Boringia (Master Sofus Heinrick Konard Kolls) was hit amidships by one torpedo from U-159 about 200 miles west-southwest of Capetown. The ship sank 10 minutes after being hit aft by a coup de grâce at 00.06 hours on 8 October. The Germans questioned the survivors and misidentified their her victim as the motor merchant Selandia (8482 grt). Unfortunately the second torpedo hit when the crew abandoned ship in the lifeboats, destroying two of them and killing most of the occupants. 21 crew members and four gunners were lost. The master, 33 crew members and one gunner were picked up by the Clan Mactavish, which was sunk by the same U-boat a few hours later. The master and six crew members from Boringia died in the sinking. The remaining 27 crew members and one gunner were picked up by the British merchant Matheran and landed at Capetown. | ||
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