On 27 Mar, 1944, the unescorted Tulagi (Master James Ferguson Thomsen) was hit on the starboard side by two torpedoes from U-532, capsized and sank by the stern in less than 30 seconds northeast of Cape Comorin, India. The master, 37 crew members and five Australian gunners were lost. 15 survivors had rescued themselves onto two rafts, but they later became separated and from the men on one of the rafts was never heard of again. The chief engineer John R.T. Ward and six crew members drifted 1500 miles on a raft for 59 days, made landfall on Alphonse Island. They were taken care of the local population and on 16 June brought to Port Victoria, Seychelles and later to Bombay. The chief engineer was awarded the Order of the British Empire (OBE).