SS Hsin Yu was a Chinese Army transport ship that served during the Warlord Era. The 1,629-ton ship had been built in 1889. On 22 April 1916, the transport, with over a thousand enlisted men and officers on board, was in a thick fog while on its way to Foo Chow. South of the Chusan Islands, the cruiser Hai Yung accidentally collided with Hsin Yu. A foreign engineer, nine sailors, and 20 soldiers were the only survivors. The ship sank with the loss of more than 1,000 lives.[1] The date of the disaster has frequently (and mistakenly) been listed as 29 August 1916 although it occurred four months earlier.[2]
References
^"Chinese Ship Sunk; 1,000 Die". The Sun-Herald. Lime Springs, Ia. 27 April 1916. p. 6.