SS ''Frankfurt'' was a

German German(s) may refer to: * Germany, the country of the Germans and German things **Germania (Roman era) * Germans, citizens of Germany, people of German ancestry, or native speakers of the German language ** For citizenship in Germany, see also Ge ...

steamship A steamship, often referred to as a steamer, is a type of steam-powered vessel, typically ocean-faring and seaworthy, that is propelled by one or more steam engines that typically move (turn) propellers or paddlewheels. The first steamships ...

built by Joh. C. Tecklenborg. First launched on 17 December 1899, ''Frankfurt'' was first operated under

Norddeutscher Lloyd Norddeutscher Lloyd (NDL; North German Lloyd) was a German shipping company. It was founded by Hermann Henrich Meier and Eduard Crüsemann in Bremen on 20 February 1857. It developed into one of the most important German shipping companies of th ...

. She took frequent passages between Germany and the

United States The United States of America (USA), also known as the United States (U.S.) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It is a federal republic of 50 U.S. state, states and a federal capital district, Washington, D.C. The 48 ...

from 1900 to 1918. Many of her passengers were

migrants Migrant is a term that may refer to: Human migration *Human migration, including: **Emigration, leaving one's resident country with the intent to settle elsewhere. 1988 Webster's Definition. One who migrates, esp. from 1 region to another in sear ...

. In 1919, ''Frankfurt'' was acquired by the

White Star Line The White Star Line was a British shipping line. Founded out of the remains of a defunct Packet trade, packet company, it gradually grew to become one of the most prominent shipping companies in the world, providing passenger and cargo service ...

after she was surrendered to the

United Kingdom The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom (UK) or Britain, is a country in Northwestern Europe, off the coast of European mainland, the continental mainland. It comprises England, Scotlan ...

World War I World War I or the First World War (28 July 1914 – 11 November 1918), also known as the Great War, was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War I, Allies (or Entente) and the Central Powers. Fighting to ...

. In 1922, ''Frankfurt'' was then sold to the Oriental Navigation Company in

British Hong Kong Hong Kong was under British Empire, British rule from 1841 to 1997, except for a Japanese occupation of Hong Kong, brief period of Japanese occupation during World War II from 1941 to 1945. It was a crown colony of the United Kingdom from 1841 ...

, where she was renamed ''Sarvistan''. In 1912, she was one of the first ships to respond to the

distress signals Distress may refer to: * Distress (medicine), an aversive state in which a person shows maladaptive behaviors * Mental distress (or psychological distress) * Distress, or distraint, the act of seizing goods to compel payment * ''Distress'' (novel ...

from .

History

''Frankfurt'' was built by Joh. C. Tecklenborg in Geestemunde (present-day

Bremerhaven Bremerhaven (; ) is a city on the east bank of the Weser estuary in northern Germany. It forms an exclave of the Bremen (state), city-state of Bremen. The Geeste (river), River Geeste flows through the city before emptying into the Weser. Brem ...

Germany Germany, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It lies between the Baltic Sea and the North Sea to the north and the Alps to the south. Its sixteen States of Germany, constituent states have a total popu ...

), and the second of her namesake to be launched for

on 17 December 1899. Most of the ship's activity prior to the

First World War World War I or the First World War (28 July 1914 – 11 November 1918), also known as the Great War, was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War I, Allies (or Entente) and the Central Powers. Fighting to ...

was transporting mainly

and

Austrian Austrian may refer to: * Austrians, someone from Austria or of Austrian descent ** Someone who is considered an Austrian citizen * Austrian German dialect * Something associated with the country Austria, for example: ** Austria-Hungary ** Austria ...

migrants to the

. On 31 March 1900, her maiden voyage started from

Bremen Bremen (Low German also: ''Breem'' or ''Bräm''), officially the City Municipality of Bremen (, ), is the capital of the States of Germany, German state of the Bremen (state), Free Hanseatic City of Bremen (), a two-city-state consisting of the c ...

Baltimore Baltimore is the most populous city in the U.S. state of Maryland. With a population of 585,708 at the 2020 census and estimated at 568,271 in 2024, it is the 30th-most populous U.S. city. The Baltimore metropolitan area is the 20th-large ...

. On 25 December 1901, ''Frankfurt'' took the first trip to

Galveston, Texas Galveston ( ) is a Gulf Coast of the United States, coastal resort town, resort city and port off the Southeast Texas coast on Galveston Island and Pelican Island (Texas), Pelican Island in the U.S. state of Texas. The community of , with a pop ...

, after which she took frequent trips from Bremen to either Baltimore, Galveston, or both. In 1908, she sailed to

South America South America is a continent entirely in the Western Hemisphere and mostly in the Southern Hemisphere, with a considerably smaller portion in the Northern Hemisphere. It can also be described as the southern Subregion#Americas, subregion o ...

. Then, starting in 1910, she started the first of many voyages from Bremen to

Philadelphia Philadelphia ( ), colloquially referred to as Philly, is the List of municipalities in Pennsylvania, most populous city in the U.S. state of Pennsylvania and the List of United States cities by population, sixth-most populous city in the Unit ...

to Galveston. In 1914, she took voyages from Bremen, to

Boston Boston is the capital and most populous city in the Commonwealth (U.S. state), Commonwealth of Massachusetts in the United States. The city serves as the cultural and Financial centre, financial center of New England, a region of the Northeas ...

, and then to

New Orleans New Orleans (commonly known as NOLA or The Big Easy among other nicknames) is a Consolidated city-county, consolidated city-parish located along the Mississippi River in the U.S. state of Louisiana. With a population of 383,997 at the 2020 ...

. At the conclusion of the First World War, ''Frankfurt'' was surrendered to the

and was acquired by the

in 1919. In 1922, the ship was sold to the Oriental Navigation Company in

and renamed ''Sarvistan''. In 1931, she was scrapped in

Japan Japan is an island country in East Asia. Located in the Pacific Ocean off the northeast coast of the Asia, Asian mainland, it is bordered on the west by the Sea of Japan and extends from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north to the East China Sea ...

Sinking of RMS ''Titanic''

At roughly 12:15 AM (''Titanic'' time) on 15 April 1912, while eastbound from Galveston to Bremerhaven, ''Frankfurt'' was the first vessel to respond to distress signals from the . Under the orders of Captain Edward John Smith, ''Titanic's''

wireless operator A radio operator (also, formerly, a wireless operator in British and Commonwealth English) is a person who is responsible for the operations of a radio system and the technicalities in broadcasting. The profession of radio operator has become l ...

, Jack Phillips, tried to reach out to ''Frankfurt'' to acknowledge his position. However, ''Frankfurt's'' operator, W. Zippel, only answered with "Standby". It can only be speculated whether he informed his captain at this time. At 12:38 ''Frankfurt'' sent her position to ''Titanic'' and was told by Phillips to inform his bridge and come to assistance. At this time the ''Frankfurt'' was between 120 and 150 nautical miles away from the Titanic. This already made it difficult for ''Frankfurt'''s wireless operator to hear and understand ''Titanic'''s calls. According to some reports the ''Frankfurt'''s wireless signal strength indicate that she was actually closer to the ''Titanic'' (According to the wireless operator on ''Mount Temple'' and the surviving wireless operator on ''Titanic'', Harold Bride). However, this is most likely due to a more powerful wireless transmitter installed in the ''Frankfurt'' compared to the surrounding ships. At around 1:23 AM, ''Titanic's'' wireless transmitter lost power, hence debilitating her communication with ''Frankfurt'' and many other ships responding to her distress calls. As ''Frankfurt'' was no longer receiving calls from ''Titanic'', Zippel tried to regain contact with her with the message "What is the matter with you?", which had unintentionally angered Phillips. Phillips, frustrated that the ''Frankfurt'' had seemed not to have known the situation the whole time after receiving ''Titanic's'' first distress call, answered: "You are a fool! Stand by and keep out!". However, this was most likely not heard by ''Frankfurt'''s operator due to the distance between the ships and ''Titanic'''s fading signal strength. George Behe of the

Titanic Historical Society The ''Titanic'' Historical Society, Inc. (THS) is a non-profit organization founded on whose purpose is the preservation of the history of the famous ocean liner RMS Titanic, RMS ''Titanic'', which Sinking of the RMS Titanic, sank in 1912, in ...

pointed out that Zippel, at the time of Phillips' outrage, was well aware of the seriousness of ''Titanic's'' situation. Even though Hattorff did not know the actual scope of the situation, he assumed it to be the worst with the limited details he had. He even assumed that the ''Titanic'' went down at 1:23 AM since that was the last time that he heard a message from ''Titanic.'' Once the ''Titanic's'' situation was realized, according to ''Überall'' (a German magazine), the ''Frankfurt's'' captain, Hattorff, steered toward the ''Titanic'''s position at full speed. He ordered the ship's

galley A galley is a type of ship optimised for propulsion by oars. Galleys were historically used for naval warfare, warfare, Maritime transport, trade, and piracy mostly in the seas surrounding Europe. It developed in the Mediterranean world during ...

to bake bread and the crew to provide blankets for the passengers they would rescue. Captain Hattorff estimated that by the given coordinates, he could make it to the site by 11:00 AM. The ''Frankfurt'' was the first to notify the , the closest ship to the ''Titanic'', that she had sunk overnight.

Frankfurt Seamount Frankfurt Seamount, also known as Frankfurt Knoll, is an undersea mountain in the North Atlantic Ocean, located about south of Cape Race on the North American continental rise. Its summit is more than below sea level and rises to a height of o ...

, one of the

Fogo Seamounts The Fogo Seamounts, also called the Fogo Seamount Chain, are a group of undersea mountains southeast of the Grand Banks of Newfoundland in the North Atlantic Ocean. This seamount chain, lying approximately offshore from the island of Newfoundla ...

southeast of the

Grand Banks of Newfoundland The Grand Banks of Newfoundland are a series of underwater plateaus south-east of the island of Newfoundland on the North American continental shelf. The Grand Banks are one of the world's richest fishing grounds, supporting Atlantic cod, swordf ...

in the North Atlantic Ocean, is named after ''Frankfurt''.

Annotations

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Frankfurt 1899 ships Maritime incidents in 1912 Passenger ships of Germany Passenger ships of the United Kingdom Ships built in Bremen (state) Ships of the White Star Line Steamships of Germany Steamships of the United Kingdom