DURING WORLD WAR I. A RUSSIAN HOSPITAL SHIP SUNK IN THE BLACK SEA: PORTUGAL

The purpose of this study is to analyse the hospital ship Portugal which was sunk during the World War I, the period beginning with the bombardment of the Black sea coast, the Russian occupation of Rize, and the attempt to occupy Trabzon. The ship, serving as a passenger and mail ferry on behalf of the company Messageries Maritimes in the pre-war period, remained in the Black Sea after the Ottoman State had closed the Straits. Consequently, the company donated the ship to the Russian government. The ship, redesigned as a hospital-ship, was assigned to help the wounded Russian soldiers in the coastal strip of the Eastern Black Sea coast. On March 30, 1916, the ship was sunk by a German submarine. This incident, considered an international problem due to the loss of many people on board, will be analysed taking the circumstances existing before and after the incident into account in this study