The SS Portugal was a steamship originally constructed in 1886 by a French shipping company for the Brazil and River Plate Line of the Messageries Maritimes Company. As built, it was designed for commercial service, but during World War I, the vessel was requisitioned by the Russian government to serve as a hospital ship in the Black Sea. Though specific details about her physical dimensions are not provided, the ship was equipped to function as a medical facility, with a crew that included Red Cross physicians and nurses, indicating her role in medical care and evacuation. Her service as a hospital ship was notably brief, beginning on 27 February 1916, and she was tasked with transporting wounded soldiers from various Black Sea shore locations such as Ardeshen, Rize Port, Fakhtia, Tiribon, and Of. The ship could undertake only about five voyages during her operational period. On 30 March 1916 (O.S. March 17), while towing small flat-bottomed boats to ferry wounded from the shore, Portugal was stationary off Rizeh, Turkish coast, for repairs after a small boat was sinking. At that moment, the vessel was not carrying wounded but had medical staff aboard. The ship was attacked by the German U-boat U-33, which surfaced and fired a torpedo at close range—missed initially, but a second torpedo struck near the engine room, causing catastrophic damage that broke the ship into two parts. The attack resulted in the sinking of the vessel and the loss of life, with the incident occurring in the context of wartime hostilities. In addition to Portugal’s sinking, another Russian hospital ship, Vperiod, was also sunk in the same period, with conflicting claims about whether by German U-boats or mines. The sinking of Portugal by U-33 marked a significant event in the maritime history of wartime hospital ships, highlighting the dangers faced by medical vessels despite their protected status under the Hague conventions.

This description has been generated using GPT-4.1-NANO based on the Vessel's wikidata information and then modified by ShipIndex.org staff.