SS Belgian Prince was a British cargo steamship that was launched in 1900 as Mohawk.

Werner evaded prosecution, later became a senior officer in the SS, and died just after the Second World War.

[2] In 1900 and 1901 two Sunderland shipbuilders built four sister ships for the Menantic Steamship Company.

Sir James Laing & Sons launched Mineola and Mohawk at their Deptford shipyard in 1900.

Thompson and Sons launched the almost identical Monomoy and Manitoba at their North Sands shipyard in 1901.

[7] She had a single screw, driven by a three-cylinder triple expansion engine built by Blair & Co of Stockton-on-Tees.

It also bought a slightly smaller North Atlantic ship called Matteawan, and renamed her Highland Prince.

[12][13] In 1914 Austria-Hungary attacked Serbia, Germany invaded Belgium, and the UK declared war on the Central Powers.

[3] At 19:50 hrs on 31 July the same year Belgian Prince was steaming from Liverpool to Newport News carrying blue clay when U-55 torpedoed her in the Western Approaches, about 175 nautical miles (324 km) northwest by west of Tory Island, at position 55°50′N 13°20′W / 55.833°N 13.333°W / 55.833; -13.333.

Under Werner's orders, the U-boat crew then removed emergency supplies from the lifeboats, and damaged the two larger boats with axes to make them sink.

Belgian Prince's Chief Engineer, Thomas Bowman, reported that he saw them board the ship and signal to U-55 with a flash lamp.

He swam toward Belgian Prince, but in the morning, when he was still about 1 nautical mile (2 km) distant, he saw the ship explode, break in two, and sink.

[15] In daylight on 1 August a British patrol boat rescued Bowman, Silenski and Snell from the water, and landed them at Londonderry, where a Sailors' Rest run by the British & Foreign Sailors' Society took care of them.

[17] On 8 April 1917 Werner and U-55 had sunk the British cargo ship Torrington, and had drowned 20 of her crew in the same way as the men from Belgian Prince.

[16] Werner later joined the Nazi Party and served in the SS, and was promoted to the rank of Brigadeführer in Heinrich Himmler's personal staff.