The Admiralty reports that 10 vessels (including eight British boats of large tonnage) have been sunk. The Dramatist sighted a vessel on December 28 going the same way and closing in. At 1.15pm the vessel came alongside, broke out a German naval ensign, and signalled “Stop immediately”. The side of the German vessel under the forecastle bulwarks was dropped, revealing two guns of 2½in calibre, trained on the Dramatist, which stopped and surrendered. Armed crews boarded, and the crew were conveyed to the raider. At 7 o’clock the steamer was sunk. The crew were transferred to the Hudson Maru, with others from sunken vessels — in all 237 — with instructions to follow the raider to Pernambuco. When any vessel was sighted all on deck were driven below and the watertight doors were locked. The heat was stifling. The men heard from the raider’s crew that had a British cruiser been met they would not have been allowed a chance of saving themselves.
The raider looks like an ordinary cargo steamer. When passing neutral vessels she hoists British colours. When she sights a British vessel she hoists the German ensign. The captain stated that he did not intend to sink passenger steamers; he did not wish to kill women and children; he only wanted to sink big cargo boats. One of the crew of the Minieh states that the officer of the raider asked for papers. When he was told that they had been destroyed he laughed, and said: “Well, it can’t be helped you have played the game.”
The Radnorshire’s experiences were similar to those of the Dramatist. The captain was told, when asking what the raider would do with his Indian firemen, that they would be kept at work aboard and sent with the next batch of prisoners. The captain was informed that if he had fired a gun, he would have been sunk with all hands. “When the raider was near I gave the alarm and everybody donned lifebelts. Six German officers and 20 men boarded us and assumed charge. After seizing all the coffee and food they planted two bombs on each side of the vessel, but we were given time to remove our personal necessaries. After we left the bombs were exploded. We were kept in the raider’s port bow practically without air, and compelled to sleep for five days with “roughnecks”.