Capon and his party were never found. His may have been the upturned boat that the sloop had seen on the afternoon of 25 October. Capon's boat included the Chief Engineer, all three radio officers and six passengers. Five of the passengers were South African: 63-year-old Julie Martiessen with her 27-year-old daughter Gisela, and 46-year-old Annie Philpott with her two boys Kenneth (12) and John (nine). Surviving passengers wrote to Blue Star Line commending the ship's officers and men. One credited Leslie Vernon and Second Officer JP Smith with "unflinching courage" and tirelessness. Another commended Vernon for "seamanship, courage and tact". Seaman James Donaldson was called "outstanding" for his "energy and zeal". Roland Moscrop-Young was credited with "remarkable coolness, ability and seamanship" and Junior Engineer Hickman was thanked for "continuous and unending" help. Vernon and Moscrop-Young were awarded the MBE and Donaldson was awarded the BEM. Successor ship After the War, Blue Star Line ordered three more Imperial Star-class ships from Harland and Wolff in Belfast to replace some of its war losses. They included a third , which was launched on 4 March 1946 as Empire Mercia for the Ministry of War Transport but completed in December as Empire Star for the Blue Star Line company Frederick Leyland & Co. She was transferred to another Blue Star company, Lamport and Holt Line, in 1950. In 1971 she was sold to Long Jong Industrial Co of Taiwan who scrapped her at Kaohsiung. References Sources 1935 ships 1942 in Singapore Maritime incidents in October 1942 Ships built in Belfast Ships of the Blue Star Line Ships of the United Kingdom Ships sunk by German submarines in World War II World War II shipwrecks in the Atlantic Ocean Ships of the Lamport and Holt Line