BC Cook
FOR centuries the Pacific has been travelled by countless cargo ships bringing valuable goods to and from endless buyers and sellers. There are two types of cargo ship: those owned by trading companies and are given specific destinations and assigned to move particular cargoes, and those called tramp steamers. These vessels operate independently, go wherever there is cargo, and don’t really have a home port. They may haul a load of coal from Australia to South Africa, then take phosphates to Taiwan. Moving whatever needs to be moved and going wherever there is work, they may stay at sea for years at a time.
Crew members on tramp steamers come from all walks of life. Many just love the life of a sailor. Some are running from the law, the army or ex-wives. Most have no desire to return home, whatever that means.
The Southport was a tramp steamer that cruised the world’s oceans about a hundred years ago. She was registered as British but that was the extent of her connection to that country. Like all tramps, she went where the work was. A medium-sized vessel, she had a crew of just under thirty men and did not carry the new, high-tech gadget of the age: radio. When at sea the Southport sailors were cut off from the world and caught up on news only when they reached the next port.
In the summer of 1914 the Southport docked at Kosrae in Micronesia, then known as the Caroline Islands. She waited there for a mail ship to pass through so they could get their next assignment, but instead they were met by a German warship, the SMS Geier. The British waved and saluted their fellow sailors and even lowered their flag to show respect but the reply was cold silence. Since the last time the Southport heard any news war had broken out between England and Germany, and since Kosrae was a German colony and the Geier bristled with many guns the crew of the Southport were told that they were now prisoners.
The German warship had other plans and did not want to fuss with a small tramp steamer in the middle of the Pacific, so the Germans took what supplies they wanted from the Southport, disabled her engines, and warned the crew not to leave Kosrae. That was easier said than done. A typhoon had recently struck the island and the people verged on starvation. The Southport had little food and would need supplies. Unworried about such matters, the Germans sailed away, leaving the crew of the Southport to fend for themselves.
The chief engineer said he could probably repair the damage to the engines and get the Southport running again but they would need a lot of luck to get to a friendly port. Australia was their best bet, several thousand miles away, and the Geier was still out there somewhere. If they ran into her again the Germans may not be so kind.
The mechanics managed to fix the engines but only the forward gear. They could not go in reverse and moved very slowly so it would be hard to maneuver such a large ship. If they encountered trouble they could neither run away nor fight back.
Luck was on their side this time. After a long, nerve-wracking voyage they limped into Australia and were hailed as heroes. The ship was repaired and they eventually made their way back to England where their strange story preceded them. In the dark days of World War I the legend of the tramp steamer Southport and how they outfoxed the Germans boosted the sagging morale of the British forces. They would need many such stories before the war ended.
BC Cook, PhD lived on Saipan and has taught history for over 30 years. He is a director and historian at Sealark Exploration.
