M. Consul-General, ed us the following statement issued by the Press Bureau on February 8, 1915 The Secretary of the Admiralty publishes the following reports by the Masters of the British Merchant ships Toko Maru and Ikaria, show: ing how they were torpedoed by German submarines, together with a memorandum on the loss of the British ship Oriole, probably from the same cause (Cory.)
I, Mathew Robertson, Master of the str. Ikaria, of Liverpool, official number 113368, declare as follows left Santos, vid Rio Janeiro, Bahia, Pernambuco and Madeira on December 21, 1914, with a cargo of general merchandise bound for Havre and London. All went well until January 31, 1915. When about twenty-five miles northwest of Havre at 12.30 on that day I was on the bridge with the Chief and the Second Officers when we saw the wake of a torpedo coming towards the ship at about thirty feet from the ship. The ship was stopped at the time for the purpose of getting 'a pilot as two tugboats were coming up with flags at the fore. About a second after we saw the wake of the torpedo, we were struck in the fore part of the ship on the port side. An explosion occurred and a volume of water mixed with cargo, cement, and parts of the torpedo arose about sixty feet and fell on the deck. The ship immediately began to sink by the head. The crew were ordered to launch the boats to leave the ship. The crew and I then boarded the tug which was lying close to us and waited for the ship to sink. About an hour afterwards as she stopped sinking by the head, part of the crew with myself, some of the officers and the engineers, went on board. A tow rope was attached to the ship from the tugboat and she was taken in tow. Meanwhile a part of the crew on board started to get steam in the main engines. As the ship would not steer a second tug was called to assist in steering. She was ultimately towed to Havre where she arrived about 9.30.
Dated February 1, 1915. (ed.) M. Ronerrson.. Declared before me, (Sd.) Janes Wats,
Text read from the printed page and cleaned; old type leaves the occasional error.