Wreck Baron Gautsch

Описание: On July 28, 1914, the I. World War began. Uncertainty and fear are felt across Europe. The Austrian Lloyd passenger steamer "Baron Gautsch" enters military service with the task of transporting military reinforcements to Montenegro and evacuating civilians to safe places in the north. Overloaded with passengers fleeing war-torn areas, the Baron Gautsch set sail from Kotor (Montenegro) on August 12, 1914, heading north. The next day, Thursday, August 13, he landed on Veli Lošinj, where a large number of mothers with children, returning from vacation, boarded.
He set sail on his last trip to Trieste at 12 noon. Due to the excessive number of passengers, he did not land in Pula, but continued his journey. He soon sailed into a minefield laid by his own Austro-Hungarian Navy to protect the main war port. At 2:45 pm, the ship hit an underwater mine and disappeared from the surface in only seven minutes later.

The contradictions presented during the legal process that followed the sinking are the result of numerous testimonies from passengers and crew members. Failure to comply with the instructions and orders of the competent authorities, Captain Paul Winter's departure for a break accompanied by a mysterious woman, the premature departure from duty of first officer Josef Luppis to dine with first class passengers, the management of the steamer by II. officer Giuseppe Tenze too close to the shore (even though he was warned to sail 15 nm away from the shore), the successful lowering of only one of the eight lifeboats, in which there were mostly crew members, are some of the facts from the statements of the survivors and the reasons for the sinking of this steamer.

And what is the lesson of this tragic accident?

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