German hospital ship Ophelia

On 17 October 1914 a number of German torpedo boats were destroyed during the Battle off Texel by the British cruiser, HMS Undaunted, while laying mines off Haak lightship.[3] German command sent out a hospital ship to supposedly search for survivors. Suspicions were aroused when British intelligence learned that Ophelia was using a wireless radio set,[4] at that time unusual for a hospital ship, to communicate with the German wireless base at Norddeich station. In addition to using wireless radio she was using coded wireless transmissions; secret codes or their use are forbidden on hospital ships.[4]

While in the area, British submarine, HMS D8, shadowed the German ship.[5] When the Ophelia noticed the sub she began to flee the area, further raising suspicions as her supposed task of searching for German survivors was not completed.[6] Under Article 4 of Hague Convention X, hospital ships cannot be seized but they can be inspected by enemy craft.

HMS Meteor was sent to investigate the ship.[2] As it approached for boarding and inspection it was observed that her commander, Dr. Pfeiffer, threw overboard a number of documents and secret codes.[3][7]

The British Admiralty seized the Ophelia as a prize of war, rather than as a hospital ship. Their reasons for doubting her status as a hospital ship were the dumping of documents by the crew, the transmission of a coded message before the boarding, and the destruction of the ship's wireless set.[4][8] Furthermore, the ship was not included in the list of hospital ships that were exchanged at the start of the war.[9]

An enormous number of Verey lights were discovered on board. Fired from special pistols, Verey lights can be used as signal devices. The Ophelia had 600 green, 480 red and 140 white lights, and all records of how many she had before the seizure were destroyed before boarding. For comparison, a British hospital ship would stock about 12 lights of each colour.[6]

Germany later used the seizure of the Ophelia to try and justify its attacks on hospital ships:

On 17 October, 1914 ... we sent out the hospital ship Ophelia to pick up any survivors. However, the English captured her and made her prize, charging us with having sent her for scouting purposes, although she was obviously fitted up as a hospital ship and bore all the requisite markings...We also considered ourselves released from our obligations and with far more justification took action against hospital ships which, under cover of the Red Cross flag, were patently used for the transport of troops. — German Admiral Scheer[10]

The British renamed the ship SS Huntley and used her for transporting fuel from Portishead to Boulogne. On 21 December 1915 she was torpedoed and sunk by German U-boat UB-10 .75 miles (1.21 km) off the Boulogne light vessel.[1][2]

• List of hospital ships sunk in World War I